Forging Bonds
by Festus Flare
Summary: Lisbeth, the master blacksmith, was able to convey her feelings for Kirito before Asuna arrives. How will this small event effect the lives of both Lisbeth and Kirito, not to mention the thousands of players in the death game Sword Art Online? They say that a butterfly flapping its wings can cause a hurricane on the other side of the world. Kirito X Lisbeth. Chapter 9 re-uploaded
1. A New Beginning

Blacksmithing was never an easy task.

I knew this ever since I started opening up my shop and took on the role of a blacksmith, but it was all worthwhile. Throughout the time in this death game called Sword Art Online, I have created multiple weapons for the many players trapped in here with me. Every time they return to me, asking for me to fix or polish their weapon, I feel a sense of pride and relief. My handcrafted weapons have managed to save another person's life.

It was also through blacksmithing that I found the first person I fell in love with.

Kirito; what a strange person he is. He acts all high and mighty, not to mention rude! The first time I saw him, I wanted to beat the living daylights out of him because he broke the strongest sword I ever made! Well, if that didn't piss me off, the fact that he broke it using a _monster drop_ sword did. Slowly, I could hear the sound of my pride as a blacksmith slowly crumbling into nothingness as the blade of the sword was cut clean in two.

Feeling challenged, I told him I could easily make a sword that could shatter his Elucidator, and he seemed pretty happy about that. Of course, I needed the materials, so I forced him to follow me in the entire process, starting with fighting the white dragon that held the Crystalite Ingot needed to make such a weapon.

And so, we set off to the 55th floor in search of the dragon. Along the way, he did many things that irritated me. But he also showed concern for me at many points. When I felt cold, he gave me a sweater that he had. When I fell into the dragon's den, he saved me from certain death by clinging onto me as we fell. If it wasn't for him, I would be dead by now. And the night the two of us were trapped in the large hole known as the dragon's den, I held his hand as I slept, and for the first time, I finally felt the first thing that felt real to me in this world, the warmth of his hand.

That was when I realised that I truly did love this boy… Kirito…

That is why I am in my workshop right now, struggling to forge a sword from the Crystalite Ingot we had acquired. I had also set in mind that if I managed to forge a sword that impressed even him, I would confess my love to him. It was going to be difficult, as the stats are usually random. Even the greatest sword I have ever made, Asuna's Lambent Light, was probably made out of pure luck.

When I had struck the piece of metal a few times, the shape started to morph. This was it, the moment of truth. The two of us have agreed that if the sword didn't turn out well, we'd just go back to the dragon's den and gather some more of his… excrement…

Please let this work!

Slowly, the ingot started to glow brightly as it changed into the form of a sword. When it had dimmed, I couldn't believe my eyes! It was a beautiful sword, one of the most beautiful swords I have ever made. It was a dazzling white colour, with a tint of blue. The blade seemed thin and transparent, making me fear that it was lightweight. Not good, Kirito practically adores heavy swords.

Praying as hard as I can, I lifted the sword to check its stats, and…

"Wha-?!"

I could barely lift it! Well, at least I know it's one heck of a heavy sword. Quickly, I checked its stats and sighed in content. Its stats were around Kirito's Elucidator. I told Kirito about his new sword, The Dark Repulser, and handed him the sword and asked him how it felt like.

"It sure is heavy. ...It's a good sword"

"Really?! Alright!" I said as I made a triumphant pose, knocking my right fist against Kirito's

I don't remember the last time I felt this euphoric.

However, something felt a bit odd by this situation. He already had a great sword, so why ask for another? If it was for the stats bonuses, the blades were almost identical in those. There must be something else to it, something he's not telling me. Curiously, I asked without hesitation.

"In the beginning, you did say, a sword equal to this one, didn't you?" I said with my right hand holding my chin "That white one certainly is a good sword, but I don't think there's much difference with that monster dropped one. Why would you need two swords resembling each other?"

"Aah..."

The expression on Kirito's face portrayed that he was hesitating to say something. With the overly exaggerated expressions caused by the SAO server, he seemed much more hilarious than what he was supposed to look like.

"Well, I can't explain everything. If you won't ask any further than that, I can tell you"

"What's with that? Acting all cool" I joked as I placed both hands on my waist.

"Step back a little"

I did as he told and watched curiously as he took out both his swords and held them in both hands. I waited for one of them to return to his inventory, since dual equipping weapons was not allowed in the game. Plus, sword skills were not available while holding onto two swords.

To my surprise, both of the swords started to glow as he launched a sword skill, bathing the workshop in its light. It was impossible, truly impossible! Still, Kirito was known for doing impossible and strange things. I stammered as my brain processed what I had just seen, coming back into reality only when Kirito had asked for a scabbard for his new sword.

"...So it's a secret? That earlier?" I asked as I passed a carefully chosen scabbard for him

"Nn, well, yeah. Don't tell anyone about it, alright?" he said casually

My heart started to beat faster as the reality of the situation hit me. Kirito actually told me his greatest secret, something which I was sure he never told anyone else about. Still, he entrusted the information to me? My heart did a summersault as I agreed to keep my lips shut about his new skill.

When Kirito asked about the price of the sword, I bit my lips in agitation. No, I didn't need any payment. I only want to have Kirito by my side. I struggled to let the words out, hoping to say the three words that could forever change my life.

"I won't need any payment" I said with hesitation, stalling for as much time I could.

"...Eeh?"

"In return for that, I want Kirito to make me your exclusive smith."

I watched hopefully while mentally hitting myself for being a coward and not expressing my true feelings for him, but Kirito seemed to have easily understood the message. I smiled as he asked me what I meant by that vague statement.

"Whenever you complete your clearing, come over here and let me do maintenance on your equipment... —Everyday, from now on, without fail"

My heart was beating madly right now, and it didn't matter whether or not it was just my virtual body or my real body was feeling the same way I am right now. I knew that my feelings for Kirito were true and sincere, not just programming made from inside the game. After all, our consciousness was the one that was trapped within this death game. Whatever we feel, it was the real deal.

I mustered up my courage and took a step forward, taking a hold on his arm.

"Kirito... I..."

I let my heart continue its thumping as I tried to force the words out of my mouth. For some reason, my mouth and brain betrayed me. This was a first, since I was usually very open with my thoughts. Was this what they called true love?

Mustering all the strength I had, I opened my mouth and shouted with a clear loud voice.

"I… I… I love you, Kirito! Please… stay by my side… and… and take care of me!"

I then buried my face in his chest, unable to hide the blush that had formed on my face. I could feel my face burning with embarrassment and tears started swelling up in my eyes. I never should have said that, what if he rejects me? The damage had already been done, though. There was no way I could take back those words I had just told Kirito.

I waited for him to reply with his casual tone, probably saying something comforting to ease my troubled mind. Soon, I felt his thinly gloved hand patting my head slowly, caressing me slowly. In that position, he also started to open his mouth, speaking loud enough so I could understand what he was trying to say.

"Liz… No, Lisbeth. I… I'm not really sure how to respond to that…"

I stifled a laugh. Typical Kirito, saying something so casual with his calm demeanour. The tears that was in my eyes finally dropped in two streams, forming two wet lines crossing my cheeks. Just as I wanted to hide my face in Kirito's chest once more, I felt his hand under my chin and he lifted my face up so we could see eye to eye.

"Just let it all out, Liz. It's not good to keep your emotions locked up inside"

My tears kept on streaming down my face, but my mouth started to form a small smile. This is one of the things I like most about Kirito; the way he always tries to calmly talk to someone in order to make them feel better. My smile broadened as I hugged myself closer to Kirito.

"You're a nice girl, Liz. And you are also a beautiful girl. Whoever managed to get you would be very lucky indeed. To tell the truth, I'm sort of surprised you chose me. After all, I have my own faults as well… Kind is not usually what first comes to mind when people speak of me"

Kirito looked as if he was thinking of something back in the past, something that pained him most dearly. I didn't ask him what it was, though, since it seemed to be a private matter. However, Kirito continued to talk, as if he was finally letting all of the sadness that had welled up inside of him go for the first time.

"...I, in the past, there was a time when my guild members were annihilated... With that, I decided never again, to ever get close to others."

"That's why, usually, I avoid forming a party with anyone at all. However, yesterday, the moment you invited me to do that quest; it went fine for some reason. I kept thinking it was strange throughout the day. Just why was I walking alongside this person..."

The sadness in my heart was being lifted away, being replaced by a sense of joy and happiness. By now, my tears have started to dry up and my smile became wider

"Until now, no matter who asked, I rejected all of them. When those I knew... No, even for those whose names I didn't even know, just by watching others battle, I just froze in fear. I couldn't help but want to just run away. That's pretty much why I had always secluded myself at the foremost of the foremost of the frontlines, where people rarely came. —When we fell in that hole, I even thought that it would be better to die together than be the one left behind; that is definitely not a lie"

"But you lived. It was unexpected, but the fact that I was able to live on with Liz made me really glad. And, that night... When you gave me your hand, everything was laid bare. Liz's hand was warm... This person is still alive, that was what I thought. I, and everyone one else as well; we definitely don't exist just for the sake of welcoming death someday; I believe we live for the sake of living on. So… Thanks, Liz"

He finally let go of me and I looked into his dark eyes, eyes that seemed old with all the pain that Kirito had to endure in this tormenting world. I wanted to help him, yet I also wanted to be the one being caressed by him. Before my brain could hurt me anymore, I took his hands in mine and once more spoke with a clear voice.

"I love you, Kirito. I love you, and always will. Even if you reject my love, I will continue to love you because… you are my first love"

"…"

Kirito took some time to respond to my statement, and I waited patiently in front of him. There, I said it. I have finally confessed my feelings to the person I love. It didn't matter now that he rejected me or returned my feelings; at least he knew what was bottled up in my heart for the past 24 hours that we have been trapped in the dungeon.

After a moment, Kirito opened his mouth to speak. His face showed a caring smile, one that only he could pull off at a time like this. As his lips started to move, my face flushed red as I prayed that his response was a positive one…

"Aah…"

A new voice had entered the conversation, making the two of us to turn our heads quickly to the door of my workshop. There, standing in her white and red knight-like clothing with the door ajar, was Asuna. Her eyes were brimming with tears and her face showed an expression of disbelief. It took me a moment to realise what was going on, but then I looked at Kirito and added two and two together.

"Asuna…" I said, letting go of Kirito's hands

Holding back her tears, Asuna dashed away towards the exit of the shop. I was stunned for a moment. How could I not hear the door opening? Was I too engrossed in my emotions that I neglected all of my other senses?

"Asuna!" I shouted once more, and ran after her from behind

Leaving the store, I realised that Kirito was also following swiftly behind me. This wasn't good. Asuna could be anywhere by now, especially with that speed of hers. I looked at Kirito behind me, who had a bewildered expression on his face. Apparently, even he had not expected such an outcome to occur.

"Kirito… Are you… and Asuna…?" I asked, although I wasn't sure just what exactly I was saying

"No, we've only been together at the front lines. We're not really that close…"

Brushing the thought away, I quickly opened up my menu and tapped lightly on Asuna's name. There, I could be able to find out where she had run off to. I was starting to give up when the map stated that it could not detect Asuna when I saw Kirito do another absurd action.

He had somehow reached the top of the spire of a church and was looking intently around the area. I wanted to laugh, but my thoughts were still worried about Asuna. I realised that I have deeply hurt her, and I may have caused a scar that embedded deep within her heart. If anything were to happen to her, I could never forgive myself. It was Asuna, after all, that had helped me back when I first started to open my shop.

"There!" Kirito shouted, pointing somewhere at the other edge of the town

"Wow, she sure can run!" I joked a bit, but then put my serious face back on "Kirito, let's go!"

Jumping down with great agility, Kirito grabbed me by my hand and ran towards the area he had pointed. I felt the rushing wind blowing past my face. This was much faster than what I was accustomed to, and I knew that it must be because of Kirito's high Speed stat. I hang onto my beloved Kirito's hand for my dear life as we neared the area, which turned out to be a bridge spanning across a small stream. Kirito slowed down a few metres away from Asuna and let go of my hand.

He was just about to approach Asuna when I stopped him.

"Kirito, please, let me…" I said slowly

I was the one who had hurt Asuna, I must be the one who apologised to her as well.

Asuna was standing on the bridge overlooking the stream. Her face was devoid of all emotions, but I was sure she had just been crying. The slightly bloodshot eyes and wet cheeks quickly brought that to light. Her face turned towards me as my footsteps made a noise on the bridge, but she slowly averted her gaze.

"Asuna…" I started to say, but was at a terrible loss of words. How am I going to apologise for something I didn't even know of?

"I guess you know now, right?" Asuna said with a soft voice "The person I love…"

"Asuna... I'm sorry, Asuna… I… I didn't know…"

"No, you didn't. And… I was to blame. I… I didn't tell you about Kirito, so you had no idea…"

I could tell Asuna was struggling to say all of this, but she said so anyway. How much did she hear, anyway? Most probably a lot, since she is acting like this. I cursed myself for being unaware of her presence.

"Liz… Do you truly love Kirito?" Asuna asked, making me look at her 9n astonishment

I didn't know what to say. I wanted to make Asuna happy; she had loved Kirito long before me. I was just someone who got in the way and took her first love. I felt like a thief, nothing but a rotten old thief. However, deep in my heart, I knew that I loved Kirito. There was no doubt about it.

I was just about to answer Asuna's question when she suddenly hugged me and patted me on the back.

"Take good care of him, Liz" she whispered into my ear "He could be a little weird, and at times a little reckless, but he is a good person"

I couldn't help but feel my eyes start to water. As I returned the hug Asuna gave me, I didn't know if I should be happy that Asuna was quick to forgive me and allow our relationship to flourish, or sad about stealing her first love. Sensing my troubled mind, Asuna looked at my face and laughed.

"Liz, you don't have to feel so sad! After all, I was too slow with my approach. If I was braver, I would have confessed to him sooner. Unlike you, telling him about your feelings after a day"

The way Asuna said it, she made it sound as if I was rushing this. I made a pout and crossed my arms across my chest. This made Asuna burst into laughter, lightening the mood. The over exaggerated expressions caused by the SAO server always made someone react more to what they should, but Asuna always said that my facial expressions were off the charts!

Hopefully, that was a good thing.

The two of us walked back to where Kirito was standing previously, hoping to have him help in the resolve of our little conundrum. Knowing him, he was still right where he was left. He looked over at the two of us and sighed a hearty sigh. He must be glad that the two of us were still in good terms.

"Asuna, are you alright?" Kirito asked the girl beside me with a kind look

I sort of felt sorry for him. We had accidentally brought Kirito into our little fight. Still, I was glad that things turned out… well, pretty fine, at that. In fact, it was much too fine. I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out that Asuna was secretly still loathing me, planning the day she would PK me.

Nah, the Asuna I know was nothing like that.

After Asuna had told Kirito that she was fine, we all went back to my shop home. It felt a little awkward, since many people were staring at us strangely. Well, as long as it was just for the day or two. By the time we had reached my shop, it was already noon, and my stomach started to grumble in hunger.

"Looks like someone's hungry~" Asuna chided as she turned around "I'll go and buy some food, you two wait for me, okay?"

Asuna lied. She straight out lied! I, for one, knew that Asuna was a wonderful cook. If anything, she would always make her own food. She never actually bought any food unless it was ingredients she could use to cook something new. However, Kirito didn't seem to know that, so the two of us waited in the shop for a while.

Wait…

Kirito… And me… Alone…

I finally realised the true intention of Asuna, and looked at Kirito. He too seemed to be looking at me with a neutral expression, which made me blush and turn my face away. When I looked back at him once more, he was already right next to me.

When did he get there?!

"Lisbeth…" he started to say, making me look at him warily

"If you want to love Asuna, then I'm okay with it" I quickly spat out, unsure of what to say "After all, she's pretty famous. Not to mention she's the second-in-command for the Knights of Blood. The two of you would look real good together"

"But Liz…" Kirito retorted, making my blush more apparent "I want to be with you…"


	2. Like A Lost Child

**2024. 9****th**** July. 48****th**** Floor, Lindus **

The coffee that I drank tasted bland, but that was quite common in Aincrad. In order to have good food, one would have to make it themselves. Still, not many people were willing to actually raise their Cooking stats in a death game. That skill is pretty much useless in battle, anyway. The only person that came to mind when I thought about cooking was Asuna.

Asuna…

"Is there something wrong, Lisbeth?" said the young girl, probably around thirteen on the Other Side asked with an expression so cute I wanted to frame it. With the addition of the dragon on her head, she looked twice as cute

"It's nothing, Silica" I replied, though I'm sure my overly exaggerated expressions quickly betrayed me. I was always told that my face could never keep a secret, even in the real world

The girl in front of me, Silica, was someone I had met some time ago. It has been about two weeks since my relationship with Kirito has become official, and everyone is still talking about it. The story of how a top-rate solo Clearer fell in love with a blacksmith who forged amazing weapons. Silica and her pet dragon Pina, who had met Kirito four months before I did, had risen by about ten levels in that time and was strolling around the 48th floor, Lindus, when she accidentally bumped into Kirito once more.

A slight chuckle escaped from my mouth as I reminisced the fact that Silica also had a crush on Kirito. It was funny how Kirito seemed to attract girls just by being himself and acting out of pure instinct. Although Silica seemed pretty sad that Kirito was already in a relationship with me, she still hung around. When I asked her, she said that she was just happy to be with Kirito again, and she wanted to know just what the person Kirito fell in love with was like.

I must not be giving a pretty good impression if she based it all on my actions and personality.

Anyway, after meeting Kirito, who was on his way to meet me and have his weapons maintenance, the two had a short conversation on how the other was doing. Of course, the two were still in contact and would occasionally message each other, but meeting face to face was a different story altogether. It somehow felt somewhat more… reassuring.

As the two of them continued on with their conversation, Kirito started to sense that Silica was holding back. She had something to ask him, but didn't want to for some reason. As they neared my workshop, Kirito finally asked her in a soft tone.

"Do you have something to ask me?" Kirito asked with a faint smile.

After stuttering and denying for about five minutes (and a very cute scowl from Pina), Silica finally caved in to the pressure she made herself and asked him the question that's been bothering her for the past two weeks.

"Is- Is it t-true th-th-that you're in-in l-l-lov-ve wi-with a b-b-bla-blacksmith?" Silica stammered with a beet red face

"Ah…" Kirito said as he released his breath "Obviously. That's what everyone asks me these days. You know, Silica. Why don't we just meet her?"

And thus he brought the young Dragon Tamer to my shop, where she became a regular customer. Having her around was always fun. After all, she was still a young teenage girl and Pina had sort of become a mascot for the shop, so I guess it's like killing to birds with one stone.

"It's… It's about Asuna, isn't it?" Silica asked with a frown that looked ten times more adorable than any teddy bear

I slowly nodded my head

"She hasn't been coming over to hang out, lately… and I heard rumours that she's going berserk with her training and level clearing" I replied

"I heard she's going back to her old, strict self" Silica added quietly

It was always a tough conversation if the mention of Asuna ever came up, so we try to refrain from talking about her as much as possible. Still, we can't deny the fact that what we said did have some truth. Early in March, Asuna seemed to have a sudden change of heart. She started smiling more, and looked very relaxed in most situations. But after I confessed my love to Kirito, she's become much stricter than before.

Even an idiot could figure out why that happened.

"Good afternoon, Liz, Silica" I heard a calm voice say behind me who quickly added "… and Pina"

When I turned my head around, I saw the face of my first love, Kirito. On his middle finger, a silver ring could be seen shining on his middle finger. I had the same ring, of course. That was because, without anyone realising it, the two of us had married. Only Silica, who had wanted to follow us so badly despite it being early in the morning, knew of it. Oh, and Pina too. Word got around pretty fast, though.

That happened on the first day of July, now it was the ninth. The two of us have been saving quite a lot of money for a honeymoon, probably one on the 22nd floor, as Kirito had suggested. Now that we're close to the target amount of Col we needed, that dream seemed to be getting closer to becoming a reality. Kirito even planned out to buy a Corridor Crystal which linked directly to my shop.

"Hey, there!" I shouted back and passed a bun to him, which he happily took and bit into "So, how's the 65th floor? Any luck with the boss there?"

Kirito, who was still eating the bun, took a seat next to me. My shop was still closed since we were having lunch, but I gave permission to Kirito and Silica to come in at any time. And… I guess Pina as well. He looked at me with a sly smile and spoke about how the boss should be defeated by tomorrow, and how he had already accumulated a lot of Col during the raid yesterday. Of course, I already knew about that. We talked about it before sleeping yesterday.

"If this keeps up, I'm sure we could by that nice log cabin in a few days" Kirito added

"Or, we could buy one after you guys beat the boss tomorrow" I said with a sly smirk

Kirito and Silica both looked at me questioningly.

"An entire guild came over this morning and asked me for some of my best weapons! " I spoke up happily, my joy was of course evident on my face "I checked our storage, we have enough Col to buy that house!"

"That's great!" Kirito joined in enthusiastically "Congratulations on your sale, Liz"

"So… can I come over whenever you're free?" Silica added with a cute expression

"Maybe not for the first week or two. The both of us are going to be rather… busy" replied Kirito, though his face showed an expression that made me question his motives. It didn't take a while before I did

"Ah! That's right!" I said quickly "Very busy indeed"

"Oh, well that's okay" Silica said as she finished her bun and drink

I was planning on going to the twenty-second floor today, anyway. I had run out of some materials, and it seemed like the forest there was where I could find most of those materials. After stating this to Kirito and allowing Silica to overhear us, Kirito nodded and crossed his arms.

"I won't allow you to go" he said

"Eh?! Why?!" I shouted rather loudly

"Because, I'm going to come with you"

I made a wide grin at his comedic sense. As I allowed myself to giggle a few times, I looked over at Silica who was smiling happily. She knew what to do whenever I was gone with Kirito; make sure everything is locked up since I sometimes forget and then she could go have fun with Pina or train.

"While we're there, maybe we could go house-hunting as well" suggested Kirito "If we find a nice place to live in, it would be much easier to buy it tomorrow"

I agreed wholeheartedly and nodded my head in excitement.

After eating and turning the "Open" sign around, closing my shop, we bid farewell to the young Dragon Tamer and headed for the 22nd floor. To me, it seemed like a great way to spend time with my in-game husband. We promised each other to meet up back in the real world once all of this was over, so I have great faith that one day, he will be my husband in that world too.

Little did I know that things would turn out much more different than what I had planned out.

Known for its scenic view and lush forests, I'm surprised that not many people actually stayed here. Even when it was first opened, it only took another three days before the floor was cleared and everyone partied on the twenty-third floor. The forest was also so widespread that not many houses could be built. This floor was also a great place to gather materials required to make nature-related weapons. If the game had elements, those swords would be "Nature" element swords.

As I sat on Kirito's shoulders, playing around with his hair, a slight chill went through me. That was strange, I thought that these sort of things didn't happen in the virtual world. I made a quick glance at my back, thinking that maybe it was just my instincts telling me that there were players around waiting to ambush us. Confirming that there were none, I looked ahead once more and realised that we have stopped moving.

"Are you okay, Liz?" Kirito asked hurriedly "You're shaking like a leaf up there"

"I don't think so…" I muttered back "I think I'm catching something"

"You… don't get sick in this game"

As I thought. I hopped off Kirito's shoulders and fixed my casual clothes. Looking at Kirito, he too seemed to be thinking about something.

"Do you think that… if our bodies get sick, then our VR avatars will also get sick?" thought Kirito silently

"I dunno" was my response "Hey, don't look at me. I'm not Kayaba Akihiko!"

We both laughed a bit, but then I felt the chilling sensation once more. Without thinking much, I hugged Kirito's chest and he placed a hand on my head. There was something wrong, and now I'm sure even Kirito was aware of it. He was reaching for the sword he usually sheathed behind his back, but realised that he wasn't equipping it since he was wearing casual. He then placed that arm around me, caressing me slowly.

"Don't worry, I'll protect if anything happens" Kirito spoke, making my face flush a deep red

Even though we have been married for more than a week, I still blushed every time Kirito held me so dearly. I loved this man, and I wouldn't want to ever leave his side. Whenever Kirito held me like this, I thought about how dangerous his task as a Clearer is, and I'm terrified if one day, he would not return home. I was scared that if I checked the Monument of Life on the first floor of Aincrad, I would see his name crossed off with a terrible reason as to how he had died.

I don't think I could handle that kind of sorrow.

I was so lost in thought that I didn't realise that my eyes were already watering. Wiping it with my long sleeve, I looked at Kirito's face once more, seeing his calm but dangerous expression. I believed that he could protect me, but who was there to protect him? I was quite strong, actually. At this time, I was close to level 70. I was strong enough to join the Frontlines alongside Kirito. However Kirito was probably at least ten levels ahead of me. It would be harder for me to protect him, but I think I could manage.

Just as I thought that the coast was clear, I heard a shimmering sound to my right and turned around quickly, to which I realised Kirito had also turned around. Of course, his Scan stat was much higher than anyone I knew, of course he would also hear something I did. My eyes widened in shock as I realised what I saw.

A shining white girl had appeared before us, glowing a faint white glow. She had long flowing black hair, reaching until her waist. She even wore a white one-piece dress, and her face was pale white. Seeing something like this, my first impulse was to scream.

Screaming louder than I ever have, I jumped into Kirito's arms and continued screaming. However, Kirito was silent. Well, it would have been awkward if both of us were terrified, right? My screaming started to die down as Kirito slowly stroked my head and patted my back. I felt like such a baby, but I didn't mind at all. It was just the two of us here, right?

"A g-g-ghost?" I whispered into Kirito's ear as the white girl stood there, looking at us

"It can't be. We're inside the virtual world. Nothing spiritual could exist here in the first place"

Typical of Kirito to be so calm in this situation.

"So if it isn't a ghost…" I stated as Kirito slowly put me down "Then that must mean that this is…"

Before I could finish my sentence, the child collapsed. As quick as the wind, Kirito had caught her and laid her head on his lap. I came soon after, recovering from the shock of how fast my husband really is. The child seemed to be breathing heavily, her chest was rising up and down very quickly. Whatever happened to her, it must have been bad.

"Check her pulse, Kirito! We have to make sure she's alive!" I shouted loudly since I was unsure what to do

"Well, to be frank... There's no need for breathing in this world, neither do hearts beat..." Kirito corrected me and I knocked my head playfully on my forgetfulness

"But still, she's not vanishing... so she should still be alive, I guess. But this... certainly is strange..."

Finishing his comment, Kirito tilted his head to the side. I had to agree with how fast Kirito came up with that conclusion, while I just screamed my heart out.

"What's strange?"

"She can't be a ghost, seeing as I can touch her like this. But still, the cursor... isn't coming out..."

I nodded my head slowly in agreement. In the death game SAO, everything that moves has a cursor. A player's cursor is usually green, but they could also be orange or red depending on whether or not they have created a crime or PKed someone before. For a monster, their cursor is red but will turn brighter the stronger you are or darker the stronger the monsters are. Even the NPCs have their own cursor.

This child, however, did not have any cursors indicating what she was.

We ruled out every possibility there was on why the cursor did not show, but there was nothing logical that we could think of. In the end, we came to a conclusion that this may be a glitch, and we should try and help the child as soon as possible.

"Why don't you bring her back to your shop first?" Kirito said to me which made me look at him questioningly

"What's wrong? Do you need some help with something?"

"Well, we came here to help you gather some materials, but we're sort of off-track right now. You go on ahead, I'll look for your materials, okay?"

I nodded my head and carefully lifted the child, straining to bring her back to the Town Centre so I could use the teleporter and get to the 48th floor. My Strength stat was rather high, considering the fact that I used a mace as my main weapon, but it wasn't nearly as strong as Kirito's. I could barely even lift his Dark Repulser!

It took a while, and tons of people gave me awkward looks. All around me, rumours started to spread like wildfires. Well, whatever it is, I sure hope it doesn't end in a mass amount of people losing their chastity. When I reached my shop, I was already fatigued enough to call it a day.

"Lis…beth…" a small voice called out

I turned my head around, looking for the source of the voice. Surely nobody was in the shop, right? I looked at the sign on the door. Still closed, that's good. In fact, the only other person in this room would be…

"Lis…beth… Kiri…to…"

The small girl.


	3. All That We Knew

**2024. 9****th**** July. 48****th**** Floor, Lindus **

"She's just so cute!"

"Well, I guess that's one way to put it"

I had to agree with Silica on that, the young girl was excessively cute. Her pure innocence and small demeanour made me mentally note that she was probably much younger than Silica. How could that be? Using a Nerve Gear under the age of thirteen would cause some minor setbacks as they would require parental guidance. So how did a girl, barely eight I guess, get to play one?

We were in the living area of my shop, the one where Kirito and I currently shared. There was one bed, so the two of us slept beside each other every night. Most couples would feel awkward sleeping next to each other, but for me it felt calming. Every night, I was reminded how Kirito held my hand in that dragon's den as I felt the warmth of his hand.

The three of us were on the bed, with me sitting on one side with the child resting on my lap and Silica sitting next to me, playing with the girl's long black hair.

"Hey, Silica?" I asked as I caressed the young girl's head "How did you get a NerveGear? Surely you couldn't have bought one on your own, you were under age when SAO started"

"Well, I won it along with SAO from a magazine contest" the girl, fourteen years of age, answered "Would you consider that as lucky, or unlucky?"

"Seriously lucky! But considering our current state… Well, not so lucky, I guess"

The two of us shared a short laugh before turning our intention back to the small girl lying on my lap. Throughout the thirty minutes since I have asked Silica to come over, we managed to come up with a bunch of theories on who this ghost girl in white is.

It's a real mystery. No Player Cursor, no HP bar, no data on her whit one-piece dress. Silica and I made a quick scan-through on all the items in-game. None of them looked like the one this small girl was wearing.

There was also the scary fact that she liked to repeat my and Kirito's names. Was she… looking for us?

"Pina is oddly attracted to her, though" Silica suddenly said, making me look at the tiny blue feathered dragon

"But I thought familiars are only close to their masters and his or her friends?"

"That's what I was wondering"

Pina was causally gliding across the room, but would sometimes fly over to the small girl and land on her, making a cute noise in the process. A previous master, maybe? No, familiars and pets would only be attracted to one master. That means that whatever reason Pina was acting so oddly with this child, it must be something else server related.

I checked my shared inventory which was linked with Kirito's and noted that the amount of materials have stopped rising. Good, he must be coming home soon. Maybe we could rack our brains on who this child really is, or at least find a place where we could let her stay and be safe.

But for some odd reason, I don't want her to leave.

I felt happy with this child around, almost like she was the one making me like her. My already overly expressive face would become even more expressive. This girl has something to do with it, I'm sure of it.

"Uah… uh… Uhmm…?"

"She's waking up!" Silica squealed cutely

"Uahh~" the small child yawned and rubbed her eyes before looking at me with large, grey eyes

"Mama?"

EEH?!

I backed up and looked at the girl once more. My eyes were wide in shock as the meaning of what the child said sunk itself into my mind. Me? A mother? Not a chance! I'm still seventeen, I can't be a mother!

"Wow~ you're so cute!" Silica suddenly piped up, and Pina made an approving noise "What's your name?"

"I'm… Yui" the small girl said with a small smile "You're… Silica… yes?"

Now it was Silica's turn to stare in shock at the child, Yui. How did she know her name as well? The name of a player is usually kept hidden unless you told someone your name or you partied with them. We have only just me Yui.

"Erm… Do you know… my name?" I asked hesitantly with an awkward smile. What was I thinking? Of course she knew my name!

"Mama" Yui said, making me back up with a shocked expression "Lisbeth is my mama!"

"Y-yes" I agreed, though my face was sweating like mad "I guess I'm okay with that"

"You don't like being a mom, Lisbeth?" Silica asked with her big round eyes staring cutely at me

No, it's not that. I have always wanted to be a mother. Ever since middle school, I had planned on falling in love. However, I was not so desirable back in real life. I was smart, I guess, but not in terms of a genius. I wasn't so active in sports, either. That was all I was, normal.

Every time I tried to confess my feelings to a boy I fancied, they were rejected flatly. No "I'll think this over". No "I'm already dating". They just said a big fat "No" and left. Imagine how that affected my self-esteem. Still, I got right back up and continued on with life. No point brooding over it.

But with a small child calling me mama, I felt strangely warm. This was nice. Yes, very nice.

"Of course I'm your mama" I finally said as I hugged Yui, which I guess was an answer to Silica's question as well

Since the child had just woken up, Silica and I guessed that she may be hungry. Cooking wasn't really our specialty, but I could make a few things. Though, with both our skills combined, the best we could make was… a sandwich!

Giving it to Yui, she happily ate the sandwich. Her face got dirty from eating the food, but I quickly wiped her face with a piece of cloth before it could get too messy. I looked and Silica and saw her nod, which I answered with my own nod. We needed to find out more on this girl.

"So… care to tell us more about yourself?"

"Yes, that would be nice"

Both me and Silica jumped when we heard that voice. It was surprising how he could sneak up so quietly through the door, but it wasn't so mysterious. His stealth skill was amazing. Kirito looked at the small girl who was eating the sandwich and knelt down to look at her. Everyone in the room was currently wearing casual clothing, so I guess it would have had a better effect on the girl than wearing our field suits and carrying weapons of mass destruction.

"Could you tell me your name?"

"I'm Yui… and you… you are papa…" Yui said once more with her small cute smile

"Yes, that's right. I'm your papa" Kirito seemed to have the same thoughts as me "Where do you come from?"

"I… I come from… a dark place…"

"Just as I thought"

Kirito took a place beside me and placed an arm around my waist. My face blushed slightly, but I managed not to squeal too much.

What did Kirito find out? Maybe it was something big that he must have come across when coming back from the 22nd Floor. Kirito was, after all, famous for unintentionally finding out cool information and skills by accident or pure luck. Me and Silica both looked at him, with Pina lying on Silica's head.

"Do you remember where it was?"

"N-no…"

Kirito sighed once more. What was on his mind?

"My guess is that there is an error, a bug I presume" he finally said "It must have something to do with her Nerve Gear, which connects directly with the brain. Somehow, her Nerve Gear could be addling with her cerebrum. It's affecting her memory somehow"

"How did you come to that conclusion?" Silica asked as she looked at Kirito awkwardly.

True, he had only just arrived. How did he come up with such a theory in a short span of time?

"The way she speaks, it's like she's struggling to form her words. Not only that, but Yui here is trying too hard to remember just a simple question like where she came from. If we found her much later, her memory and speech might be much worse"

"I see…" was all I could say. Trust my husband to think of that amazing theory, while me and Silica thought that Yui was actually some sort of NPC that was actually a flag in starting a quest

Yui, who had finished her sandwich and was looking at us quizzically, was probably the first bug that I have ever encountered. I felt truly sorry for her. Just how could this happen? Worse, was this condition fatal? I hope not, a girl her age had so much more to do in life.

When I looked out the window, I could see that the sun was already setting upon Aincrad. It was getting really late, and Yui probably had nowhere to go. I asked Kirito if Yui could stay with us, a question which Kirito had no reason to deny. Silica, of course, asked to stay as well.

"Well, the more the merrier!" I said enthusiastically

Kirito took out a sleeping bag (honestly, he still carried those around?) and gave it to Silica, who respectfully went to another room to sleep. I like Silica for that. After her realisation that she was becoming rather proud due to being a Dragon Tamer, she had become slightly more humble. She would speak nicely when she's with us, and would respect our privacy.

I looked at Kirito, already lying on the bed. It was big enough to fit two and a half people, which was perfect since Yui was probably half the size of a normal person. I laughed as the memory of how I bought this bed came to mind. I was deathly tired from working my ass off trying to get money for the shop, so I randomly pressed the button on buying this bed due to being so tired.

Well, at least I had someone to share it with.

I changed to my nightwear, forcibly turning Kirito's head around to avoid him from peeping. That was one thing I could always beat him at, my temper and paranoia. I then lay next to Yui who was sleeping comfortably in between us. For a moment, I imagined that we were a happy family, and Yui was our beautiful daughter.

I didn't mind the thought.

"Liz…" Kirito's soft voice stopped me from falling asleep

"Yes, Kirito?"

"Tomorrow, after the boss fight, do you want to buy a house first or help Yui find her parents or something?"

I knew my answer was going to be selfish, but Kirito was already used to that. After all, he used to be a selfish Solo player as well.

"If we go and find her parents, it might take a while" I said with a frown "Let's buy a house, then we could visit the Monument of Life. Maybe, looking at all the names there, she could remember some of them"

"Mm" Kirito sounded approvingly "I guess that's the best way we could do it now"

"Yes…" I said, but silently added "Kirito?"

"Yes, Liz?"

"I love you…"

"I love you too"


	4. The Strength One Requires

**2024. 10****th**** July. 48****th**** Floor, Lindus **

The night came and went just like a breeze, and it was morning before we even knew it.

I awoke to the sound of several wind instruments playing an upbeat tune. Of course, only I was aware of this tune. I had set it for my alarm, anyway. When I looked at the clock at my upper right corner, I noted that it was around 6:30. Well, it doesn't matter anyway. I've decided to leave an NPC clerk to do my job today since I'm going to help with Yui's predicament.

Beside me, slept the young girl in between me and my beloved husband. Her small mouth was humming a tune I couldn't quite place. Well, that's sweet. She's singing! Although, I do wonder where I've heard that music before…

I'm sure I've heard it before, though.

A look of confusion was etched onto my face as her humming turned to a stop. A logical explanation. There must be a logical explanation! I racked my brain, trying my hardest to look for an answer that surely would never come. At times like this, I wish that Kirito was awake to help me figure out these things.

I sighed once more and promptly got off the bed. A quick trip to the bathroom and a change of clothes later, I was wearing my blacksmith uniform. No, not a blacksmith uniform; a maid uniform. I was a maid no matter how much I denied it. It was all thanks to Asuna who picked out my uniform that I'm even wearing this today.

Asuna…

It has been much too long, and I can't take it anymore. My best friend is in a state of utter depression and here I am, having fun with the man she had fallen in love with. Her words echoed through my mind as I sat on a stool and placed my head in the palm of my hands.

'_Liz, you don't have to feel so sad! After all, I was too slow with my approach. If I was braver, I would have confessed to him sooner. Unlike you, telling him about your feelings after a day'_

Her words struck me like poisonous arrows and left a large wound in my heart that would never heal. How dare she, talking as if nothing had happened and then sulk all by herself. She did not deserve such cruel treatment. If anything, I was the one who should be crying by myself in the corner.

I did not know how long it was since I sat there, crying over my best friend, but the next thing I knew Silica was hugging me from behind. My eyes were wet and I could faintly trace two straight lines running down my cheeks. I was crying… I really was crying…

"Nyah~ Please don't cry…" Silica said with her small voice "You look very different when you cry…"

Silica was truly a nice girl. Once we get back to the real world, I think I should buy her a gift for helping me so much.

We stayed in that position for a while, unwilling to move. At one point, I could see Pina land in front of me, and hugged my arm. I always wondered whether or not this blue feathered dragon was truly a familiar or a pet. No, he was neither. He was much more than that, he was a friend. But could AI really become this… lifelike?

"Silica…" my voice sounded hollow and sad "I'm going to meet Asuna. Today"

"Eh~? How are you going to do that?" Silica's answer came in her small childish voice "Today the Clearers are going to try and clear the 65th floor, right?"

"Exactly"

It took a while for my words to finally process in Silica's mind, and she was quick to react. I was level 69 right now. Maybe, if I could raise it to 70 this morning, I could…

"But it's dangerous!" Silica suddenly retorted, having finally let go of me "You know the minimum level requirement is 10 levels above the current floor! I'm only at level 58, I could never get to 75 on time. And you're…"

"Heh eh~" I made a snarky laugh "Don't you know a blacksmith's specialty is her strength? I may look like this, but my Strength stats are really high!"

My words made Silica pout even more. If anything, she was tremendously worried about me going to the Frontlines. Of course, the base of her worries is acceptable. I'm much weaker than most of the Clearers. But no, I'm not backing away now. If anything, my resolve to meet Asuna today was as hard as steel. I just need to gain a little bit of experience, just enough to reach level 70!

"Lisbeth, please be careful" Silica finally said as she hugged Pina by her chest "I don't know what I'd do if you died… and Kirito…"

My eyes widened for a moment and another stream of tears streamed down my face. All this while, I was worried about how I'd feel if Kirito were to disappear, never to return ever again. Not once did I ever think of how everyone would feel if I had died. Would people cry? Would Silica weep in front of the Monument of Life, thinking about the short time she had spent with her new best friend? And Kirito… will he end up like his old selfish Solo self as he lamented over my death, just like how he treated himself after the destruction of The Black Cats of Full Moon guild?

I quickly wiped my tears away and put a brave face on. No, I won't die. I will never die as long as I have Kirito by my side. We have pledged to protect each other from harm the day we got married. If I truly did trust my husband, I would not die in a place like this. One year and eight months, that was how long we were trapped here. I was not going to let myself die before the clearance of this game!

"I'm gonna be fine, don't worry about it!" I said triumphantly "I'm going to the Outskirts to train, I'll be back before you know it, okay?"

"Mm" nodded the Dragon Tamer "I'll be waiting for you, so be careful! I'll take care of Yui while you're gone"

And thus, after a quick cup of coffee, I left for the Outskirts, situated quite a distance from my workshop. Silica had told me she was going to go explore with Pina, so I told her we would send her a private message once we were ready to help Yui.

The thing about the Outskirts is that it could be considered a low level farming area compared to my level. If I really wanted to raise my level, I would need to be at the 60th floor, Lamela. However, my experience points were close to getting to level 70, so I just needed a quick place to level up. After all, my mace could easily shatter any opponent that gets in my way.

I trained against the many monsters that spawned in the area, watching my EXP bar slowly rising as I moved from one enemy to another. At times, I would cross another player who would suddenly whistle to me, and some who eyed me jealously. I knew exactly why they did so, but decided to keep my mouth shut and continued on training.

It was bad enough I had a childish face, but being married in-game to one of the most notorious Solo players around surely gives you a reputation. Since I'm also a fairly popular blacksmith, almost everyone on this floor knew me. That meant that my relationship with Kirito, albeit not knowing that we're married, is not a secret.

Well, at least my business is flourishing.

About an hour had passed before the sudden appearance of a window appeared in front of me, startling me and making me fall on my back. I rubbed my head grumpily muttering and grumbling about perfect timing before I saw the screen and jumped in joy.

**CONGRATULATIONS  
LV UP LISBETH  
69-70**

"Congratulations! That must have been real hard"

I turned around at the source of the voice, only to be greeted with the face of someone who I could only describe as a bandit, or a pervert. On natural reflexes, I pointed my mace at him and stepped forward cautiously. My threat seemed to work as the strange man wearing red slowly backed away.

"Are you a PK?" I asked with the most pissed off expression I could make

"No!"

"A pervert?"

"Wha-?"

"Are you going to give me a potion which also doubles as a paralysing poison, then when I'm poisoned you're going to move my hand and turn off Ethics Mode and forcefully rape me in a secluded area?"

"That doesn't even make sense!"

The strange fuss the two of us were making certainly attracted some attention, and soon enough people started spying us. Good. Thanks to my reputation as a blacksmith, people would surely recognise me and help if I screamed at the top of my lungs.

"Then who are you, and what are you doing here?" I finally asked as I poked my weapon at him, not giving him the slightest chance to rest

"I'm just a guy c-c-called Klein! Bachelor! Twenty-four!" the man stuttered as he raised his hands in apology "I was e-e-exploring the lower floors and s-saw you fighting, so I stopped by to watch!"

My mind quickly processed what he was attempting to do. Apparently, adding the fact that he was twenty-four and a bachelor meant that he was originally attempting to… Okay, maybe this guys was just desperate. Lowering my weapon in annoyance and pity, I raised my right hand where a shining silver ring glistened in the sunlight.

"I'm married, sorry" I said nonchalantly

"Oh… Well, if you're ever-"

Well, that settles it.

"I have to go somewhere, so I better be off! Sorry!"

I then ran away as fast as I could back to my workshop. I wouldn't really be surprised if that man was following me from behind, but for now the only thing I could do was run like there's no tomorrow. Before I realised it, I was already in front of my shop, and the clock had only rung 9 o'clock.

I slowly opened the door, hoping not to disturb Kirito and Yui. However, my entrance was quickly interrupted by Yui who jumped in front of me and hugged me tightly. I was at a total loss of what I was going to do, but then I saw Kirito and calmed down again.

"Mama is back!" Yui cheered happily

"Yes, mama is back" replied Kirito who smiled at me warmly

After the three of us moved to the living area and I opened the shop, leaving the NPC clerk to handle the customers, and turned to my beloved. Kirito and Yui sat on two of the available stools while I prepared breakfast for the three of us.

I asked Kirito what the two had been doing while I was out, and Kirito answered with his calm and reassuring demeanour that he had been trying to experiment many things with the young girl. Somehow, I didn't like the sound of everything Kirito found out.

"Her Player Window… it's different from ours"

"How different?"

According to Kirito, the top screen of the menu window was normally separated into three areas. The arrangement was such that in the topmost section, the name was shown in English characters along with the long and thin HP and EXP bars, and below that, in the right half, would be the equipment figure, while the left half would be the summary of command buttons. There were countless sample designs to customize with for the icons and such, but the default layout cannot be changed.

On the other hand, in the topmost section of Yui's window, only the strange name display, Yui-MHCP001 exists, with neither the HP bar nor EXP bar, or even the level display. Although the equipment figure was there, the amount of command buttons was drastically less than usual, with only Item and Option there.

"What does MHCP-0001 stand for?" I ask with an air of confusion and curiosity

"Mental Health – Counselling Program. First series" Yui said as she bit into the sandwich I had made for her

The two of us looked at the young child curiously. According to Kirito, Yui had an extensive knowledge on many things, though she seems to have forgotten what most of them are. She could easily describe what the Cardinal system was, but she can't even remember where she learnt it. Indeed, whatever happened to her had truly been something mysterious.

"Her Player Window doesn't seem to be corrupted too" Kirito then added "It's like… it was like that since the beginning…"

A look of sympathy crossed my face as I looked at the small child happily eating a sandwich in front of me. That Kayaba Akihiko… what was he planning? And just what is his purpose of doing this to such a young girl? I'm sure, if we could find him and forcefully torture him, he will have to tell us everything we need to know. For now, we only need to worry about Yui's predicament.

My eyes suddenly opened up as I realised something, something I should have noticed from the start of today.

"This morning, Yui was humming a tune"

"Other than the fact that that is excessively cute, what purpose does it serve?" Kirito asked sceptically

"The song she was humming… it was my alarm tune"

As expected, Kirito's eyes closed as his mind started thinking up of several possibilities. He then looked at Yui, oblivious to the fact that we were talking about her. Something must have clicked in Kirito's brain, because he then stood up and looked at me with defiant eyes.

"If she really was a player, I'm willing to bet my virginity that Kayaba Akihiko did something to her" Kirito told me quietly, hoping that he doesn't disturb Yui much "Maybe it has something to do with crazy experiments regarding her brain"

"I bet you're hoping you're wrong"

"Me too…" Kirito whispered "Because the only other possibility… is that she isn't even a player"

**2024. 10****th**** July. 65****th**** Floor, Terraria**

I have never gone higher than the 60th floor before, and I'm pretty sure I knew why. The upper floors are, obviously, much more dangerous than the floors below. Usually you would need a ten level gap before a floor is considered safe for a player to safely explore without much difficulty. But recently, the monsters are either getting harder, or they're adapting. Players now set the condition to having a fifteen level gap before they should actually consider going to floors above the 60th floor.

The 65th Floor is based on the theme of earth. It is mostly covered in dirt and ground with trees and water in various locations. The place wasn't so popular with tourists, but many high-level players like to come and train here. It's usually because of the Audino, a monster that gives out a ton of experience points while being a miraculously easy monster to defeat. Of course, Kirito is one of those Audino hunters. Too bad most people could only kill about five a day since the Monster POP of the game makes sure that they don't always appear.

As I walked down the streets of the town, side by side with Kirito, I noticed a lot of glares coming at our direction. Honestly, the first thing that came to mind was that I was seldom at the frontlines, making people question my appearance. Of course, I couldn't be more wrong.

"Ceh, Kirito's brought along his girlfriend again"

"Why does he get such a cute girl?"

"She's that strong mace user from the 6oth floor, right?"

"Yeah, there's a rumour going around that she has a ridiculously high Strength stat"

"Do you think she might even have a Unique Skill?"

"What's for dinner?"

Oh, so that was the problem. I can't believe that I was raising so many rumours. Well, being the wife of one of the strongest Solo players around might actually cause some suspicions. You could say that some of them were even jealous at us.

My mace, Counterpoint, which I had strapped behind me felt much heavier than before, even in a world where everything was made of data. Was Kirito always being insulted like this? If he was, I would feel truly sorry for him. In a way, I might be causing him some discomfort. The last time I had helped the Clearers, back at the 60th floor, I had attempted to assist the Clearers. Despite not being anywhere near the same level as they are, my high Strength stat easily helped them to beat the boss.

There's a funny story to how I got such a high stat for my Strength, but that story is for another time.

I let out a sigh and looked down at my feet. I didn't particularly hear the gossip that came our way, mostly because we were hiding the fact that we were married and that I had come late, helping with a player who wanted a new axe beforehand. Even now, only a handful of people know we're married. I wanted to get to the discussion area so bad! I was just about to speed up when I felt a gloved hand hold my shivering right hand.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine" Kirito's calm voice spoke to my ears, making my tense self calm down "If anyone or anything tries to hurt you, I will be there. Just call my name, and I will be there"

"Kirito…" I looked up at his face, seeing that warm, tender smile which complimented his boyish face

Suddenly, I felt the atmosphere getting tense. It was like the rage of tens of hundreds of people were directly being sent to us.

"Uh, l-let's go!" I suddenly said "Don't want to be late, r-right?"

"Yeah!" Kirito seemed to have also picked up on the tone of the situation "We'll get this done real quick, then we can go back and play with Yui and Silica again!"

Bad choice of words! The atmosphere suddenly became even more tense, and I heard some strange murmurs of the words "pervert" and "gigolo". Before the situation could get any worse, Kirito grabbed my arm and dashed off to the place where we would hold a meeting for tackling the boss. And when I say dashed, I MEAN dashed!

We arrived at the location in record time, our faces filled with distraught. If anything, I won't be helping the Clearers again until at LEAST the 75th floor!

Looking around the area, I could see that many of the Clearers were already here. We quickly composed ourselves and pretended like nothing had happened. A few minutes later, everyone who had come to fight the floor's boss was gathered around the main hall, which had a table in the middle where the Commanding Officers from all the high ranking guilds discussed the battle tactics.

Me and Kirito hid somewhere in the back, practically avoiding anyone within the nearest metre radius who might want to kill us. Well, what can I say? Being with Kirito always brought trouble. I looked around and noticed someone in the middle, the person who I wanted to meet the most.

Asuna.

She was worse off than I thought. Her stern glare was penetrating everyone who even as so dared to glance in her direction. Since this is a game, and the SAO server is ever so helpful in helping us convey our emotions, I'm pretty sure that this is the scariest expression I have ever seen on Asuna. I swear there was a burning aura surrounding her at one point!

"Alright!" Asuna's commanding tone shocked even me, and I could see that Kirito too was taken aback with a terrified expression "You all know the strategy, right? But I will explain it all one more time!"

"The dungeon boss for this floor, The Roc Dweller, is certainly an enemy who has advantages in both land and sky. It's got an insane amount of HP and defence, but it rarely attacks. During the first round of attacks, it will soar above and causally strike with its sharp claws. Anyone who could jump high enough would be able to attack it, but the best is only with one single strike. It's best if someone could use a smash type attack to subdue it, so I need as many mace, war hammer and axe users to help out and stop it from flying. Remember, piercing type attacks don't work on it so well, and slashing and striking will also be difficult"

"Once The Roc Dweller's HP bar goes down to yellow, it will land on the ground and start attacking with its claws and beak. It will also create huge gusts of wind. Your best bet is to either stick your weapon into the ground and pray for the best, or to hide behind anything which wouldn't be easily blown away. You could chain multiple attacks by this point, and the boss would only attack at long intervals"

"But when it reaches red… well, this is when things are going to be hard. The Roc Dweller will shed its wings. It will then proceed to dig underground to avoid attacks. Whenever it emerges, we need to attack it as quickly as possible. By now, it should be easy enough to beat with a strong team"

I was amazed at the detailed information on the boss that Asuna that I forgot that we were fighting. Of course, Asuna said all this with a straight face and acted as if she was a war general, not to mention sending shivers down my spine as her rather stern tone reached my ears.

Okay, I've seen her…

Now what?

"Each Party must have at least three members, and one of them must be using a Smash type weapon. The strategy is to first wait for The Roc Dweller to try and strike us with its talons. When it is that close, all Smash type weapon users are required to strike it at its head. This should cause it to drop and become paralysed for a while. When this happens, switch and let the second player attack until it regains its composure. If your health is low, switch again"

"When its health is in the yellow, stay behind it. Only those with shields should attempt to try an go for the head. We have managed to identify that its weakness is surely the head, so try to attack there if possible"

"Our only problem is when the HP bar reaches red. If it's underground, our only safe bet is by sheer luck or a high enough Scan skill. Only strike once and switch. It's not worth the trouble to actually endanger your life. We will leave in ten minutes, prepare your equipment until then"

With a simple flick of her arm, Asuna easily adjourned the meeting and strode off towards a distant area. I looked at Kirito, who only looked back at me with a sympathetic gaze. So, all this while, this is what Kirito had to put up with. Asuna no longer acted like the sweet, kind girl who liked to come over to my shop and talk about the better parts of life. She was now the strict, no-nonsense war general… just like on the first day I met her…

"Yo, Kirito! Haven't seen you in a few days" a voice suddenly perked up beside Kirito

"I wish it was longer…" Kirito muttered so only I could hear him as he kept up a smiling façade

I lifted my head to look at the newcomer who apparently knew Kirito. Just as I did, my eyes widened and my jaw was left agape. Surely, I had not planned on seeing this guy anytime soon. Apparently, he too didn't plan for any of this since he had the exact same expression as I had.

"YOU!" "STALKER!"

After that random shout, the man who introduced himself as Klein this morning looked at Kirito with a serious expression. He grabbed Kirito by his shoulders and shook him as hard as he could. All the while, he kept shouting and gasping.

"Kirito! This girl is dangerous!" Klein shouted with no sense of tact whatsoever "Not only that, she's married! Why are you standing next to her? She could kill you!"

"But Klein…!" Kirito tried to say but was terribly disoriented from being shaken "This girl… is my…!"

"I will save you, Kirito!"

He then threw Kirito behind him and took out his trusty Katana. Backing away slowly while pointing the weapon, occasionally stabbing the air in front of me, he didn't look like a pervert at all. He looked like a gay pervert.

"But… Klein…" Kirito continued saying "She's… my wife…"

He then fell unconscious

"EH?!"

It took a while to clear up this misunderstanding, and by then we had already attracted a large crowd. Somehow, the other players were already aware of Klein's antics and let him be. However, I don't know how my pride was going to last much longer. As I stood there, helping my loving husband back onto his feet, Klein scratched the back of his head and gave me a lopsided grin.

"Eh, sorry for that" Klein apologised in one of the most terrible ways possible "I guess it was mostly my fault"

"Yes it is"

"Wha- NO! You're supposed to go 'No, it's really my fault!' and we could then become friends!"

Honestly saying, I knew that was one of the most clichéd things a girl- no, anyone could do. But I had lost all of my patience for this person, and I was also stressed out by the fact that soon, we would have to fight a real hard boss. My level difference with this floor was only 5. I was in the most danger compared to everyone else, who should be around level 80 like Kirito.

"I don't really care what I'm supposed to say" I finally spoke when Kirito could stand without my help "If you're a friend of Kirito, you're a friend to me as well"

With that bandit-like face, he grinned and crossed his arms. Realising that the time to attack the boss was coming soon, the three of us quickly formed a party and gathered with the other Clearers. We then quickly traversed the dungeon of the 65th floor, hoping to reach the boss without any casualties. Luckily for us, the monsters didn't attack us that much.

"We're here" Asuna, standing in the front of the group

In front of us was a large door, a door which was a gateway to the boss fight. I gulped down my sorrow and looked at Kirito's calming face. He had a calm face on, as he usually did, and smiled at me. Looking at his face, I felt truly calm. I was prepared to take on the boss, I was going to fight with Kirito (and Klein)! I looked ahead and braced myself for what lies ahead.

The giant double doors creaked open and we all entered the boss room. When the last of us had entered, we heard the door slowly creaking as it closed by itself as if a giant hand was pushing it. Honestly saying, I thought I was prepared for what was coming.

However…

"My God…"

* * *

**A/N I was originally going to include the boss battle scene, but I thought that the chapter was long enough as it is. It should be done soon enough, though.**


	5. Fight Or Flight

**2024. 10****th**** July. 65****th**** Floor, Terraria**

"My God…"

Those two words were the only things I managed to muster out from my mouth. No, that was an overstatement. If anything, I was practically at a loss of words from what was in front of me. Beside me, both Kirito and Klein seemed unfazed by the beast lying there, waiting for its next victim. Well, that made perfect sense. They have both faced this creature before on scouting missions.

The field seemed to be an open air arena. Seeing as the boss room was hidden at the edge of the dungeon maze, which was close enough to the edge as is, it would make sense that a flying enemy would reside here. Above us, though it looked like the sky, I knew better that the roof would block the boss we were facing from flying too high. But the edge and the outer side… I don't really know.

The boss, «The Roc Dweller», did not look all that frightening. However, it was made of stone. Giant, dirt brown stones that made the creature look almost indestructible and impossible to cut through with mere swords. The boss itself looked like a cross between an eagle and a lion. If I wasn't mistaken, this thing looked like a… griffin, I think. It was also large. I wonder how big it would be if it spread its wings.

**The Roc Dweller**

**HP: 588500/588500**

SKREEE!

All the players took out their weapons, prompting me to do the same. I tried to remember what Asuna had said before about the strategy required to defeat The Roc Dweller. It's supposed to fly up high first, right? Just as I thought that, The Roc Dweller's wings expanded and it took off into the air. Just as I thought, its wingspan made it look even larger, spreading between 12 to 18 feet.

"«Smash-weapon» users, prepare!" I heard Asuna's commanding voice

I looked at Kirito, who nodded once and ran forward with the other players who levelled up either the one-handed war hammer or two-handed war hammer weapon class. «Counterpoint» was in my armoured hands as I prepared a sword skill to attack The Roc Dweller.

Just as expected, The Roc Dweller became attracted to the large number of people surrounding the centre and swooped down to attack us with its forelegs. When it was close enough, we unleashed our sword skills. My attack, the simple yet efficient «Megaton Smash», made a direct hit with the boss' head and it shrieked again in agony.

"Switch!"

I heeded the command of the Commander of the Knights of Blood, «Heathcliff», and switched with Kirito, who started to slash at the monster with ferocious speed. Ten seconds later, the monster finally regained its bearings and flew back up.

"Not even 1%..." Kirito muttered

"What?"

"Our attacks, they barely dropped The Roc Dweller's «HP bar» by 1%"

"Damn…" Klein said in awe

Switching to the front again, I prepared another «Megaton Smash» sword skill and aimed. A few minutes later, the boss swooped down again and we struck, paralysing it. This time, I switched with Klein who attacked with his katana, «Karakurenai».

It took about two hours, two continuous hours of switching and smashing, switching and slashing, switching and attacking until we finally managed to cut off one line of its HP bar. This wasn't good. There were three more HP bars to deplete and most of us were already mentally fatigued from the continuous onslaught.

I was at the front again, charging up a «Rowdy Hammer» sword skill, when it struck me. The way The Roc Dweller was flying had changed. Instead of circling the area, looking for an opening but finally attacking the players grouped with heavy weapons with sword skills ready, it stopped and hovered there for a moment.

'_A change in the system?_' was my first and initial thought

Living with Kirito had made me think more game-like in every situation. If there is a problem, it's always system related. But this… this seemed unnatural. The Roc Dweller's tactic seemed to have changed dramatically altogether. Before this, Kirito had only spoken of «Illfang the Kobold Lord» who had his weapon changed since beta testing.

Does that mean… that the server was adapting as well?

The Roc Dweller swooped down. However, instead of attacking the grouped players, The Roc Dweller feinted and swerved right. No way! The boss actually made a tactical attack! The stone griffin aimed straight for a player wearing silver and blue armour. A member of the Divine Dragon Alliance. His shocked face was only seen for a second when the Roc Dweller attacked and lifted him up with its talons.

"Scatter!" Heathcliff shouted a direct order

I turned off my sword skill, which was difficult on its own, and made a leap to my right. My timing came a little close, as that was where The Roc Dweller attacked. But the worst part is, it didn't attack with its claws or beak. It threw the player down from above.

With a loud crash, the player landed and created a crater where he had touched the ground. His HP was depleting quickly, falling into the red zone with that single attack. If his armour didn't increase his «Defence», he would have died How, how could this be happening?! I made a quick glance to Kirito and saw him running over with Klein.

"Kirito!" I yelled as loud as my lungs permitted it "What's going on?!"

"The «Cardinal System» is evolving!" he answered quickly as he helped me to my feet "It's learning from past battles!"

"Is that even possible?!" Klein asked

His answer never came as The Roc Dweller swooped down again and attempted to snatch another player. However, Heathcliff managed to appear just in time to block off the attack using his shield to block the stone monster's path. Another player had come from behind, managing a 5-hit combo sword skill on the boss before it turned around.

Right now, the creature was at 75% health, and it was already in berserk mode. What did we do to make it so intelligent in trying to defeat us? That's when I remembered something. The boss was a rare flying type boss, which hasn't appeared in many floors. The «Commanders» and «Vice-Commanders» of every Clearing guild had sent multiple scouting parties. Could it be; that it learnt from those attempts?

SKREEEE!

The Roc Dweller zoomed over to the player and picked him up by the scruff of his collar with its stone beak. It flew into the air again, and we anticipated what would happen.

Thirty seconds of it hovering around at random directions, and then it attacked. The player was thrown unceremoniously towards a single female player. The player, who's back was turned, barely managed a scream as the two connected and tumbled. The male player, who was at yellow health to begin with, had his HP drop to zero and we all heard the terrifying sound of glass shattering, just as the female player fell off the edge.

I got back up and stood beside Kirito. By now, he must have figured out The Roc Dweller's new attack pattern. In fact, even I saw a common connection. It was using players as projectiles. So that was it.

"Everyone!" Kirito's voice echoed through the open area "Two players partner up with one shield user! Don't let it catch you!"

Despite not being a real leader, Kirito was still influential enough to make the many players scramble in search of a shield user. Klein, too, had to dash off since I was already with Kirito. We were about to find another player when a familiar figure stopped in front of us.

"If you would like, I will party with you"

"Thank you…" I managed to say as I stared at the player in shock "Heathcliff…"

Just as expected, The Roc Dweller was already swooping down through all the chaos created by the running players. It managed to grab one of them with its talons and was just about to fly back up again, but was cut short by another player smashing its wings with his dire flail. Dropping the player in pain, the stone griffin then looked at the player and screeched.

It flew with both forelegs stretched out in an attempt to grab the player. Just as it reached the player, another player intercepted and stabbed The Roc Dweller's stone eye. It wasn't supposed to hurt much, but damn, getting stabbed in the eye must've been painful!

"You will take no more players!" the beautiful commanding voice of the player shouted as she posed with her rapier, «Lambent Light»

"Asuna!" both me and Kirito yelled simultaneously in joy

The new strategy was quickly shared with the short messages we managed to convey while avoiding The Roc Dweller's attacks. Just as it attacked one group, paralysing it for a few crucial seconds, the players switched and struck with their smash-type weapon, further paralysing it. It took a few more hours, but we managed to cut off its HP by another bar, leaving it in the yellow.

Now this is where our fatigue really kicked in. So far, this has been one of the longest boss fights yet, mostly because of its high defence stat and its resistance against bladed weapons. The frantic griffin seemed to change tactics again, as it landed on all fours and folded its wings.

'_It's going to use its original attack?'_ was the first thing I thought '_No, it's supposed to have its wings open for that'_

Another «strategy switch», eh? Luckily, we were prepared for this.

This time, the strategy change was not that drastic. Instead of keeping its wings opened like it was supposed to and stay rooted at one spot, it ran. It wasn't all that fast, but it was still skilful enough to dodge most of our attacks. The smashing weapons which were so powerful against it now seemed weak because of its low speed.

There wasn't much choice left to this fight, is there?

"«Polearm» weapon users!" Asuna's quick thinking saved the day once more "Attack its legs!"

Doing as they're told, all the polearm weapon users attempted to attack The Roc Dweller's legs. That left me, Kirito and Heathcliff useless since none of us had any of those types of weapons. It doesn't matter, anyway. If whatever Asuna's plan was works, I'm sure we'll be able to cause some massive damage.

It took me a while until I realised what Asuna's motif was. As the long weapons struck The Roc Dweller's legs without it being able to attack back, it slowed down a bit. The attacks continued on, filling us all with hope until finally the monster succumbed to its pain and dropped to the ground. The Clearers with the highest speed stats, including Kirito, ran first, reaching the beast and started hacking away at its HP bit by bit until it got up again.

Before The Roc Dweller got fully up again, I had made a sudden switch with Kirito and was already at its head, Counterpoint raised high into the air. Using the sword skill «Meteor Storm», I smashed the head of The Roc Dweller multiple times, ending with an upward strike which made it flinch. The lag time after that sword skill was about five seconds. Hopefully, The Roc Dweller would be paralysed long enough for me to jump back if anything happens.

My internal clock counted five seconds, and I jumped back. Just in time, too, since the Roc Dweller had recovered and was glancing at me menacingly.

'_Damn it, why did I have to act like such a big damn hero?_' I thought, but mentally slapped myself '_I've been hanging around Kirito too much, haven't I? Oh wait, I'm his wife_'

The Roc Dweller, who I expected to charge at me menacingly, unfurled its wings. The hurricane attack! There was no time to dodge it, and my mace couldn't stick to the ground strong enough for me to not get blown off the ground.

Blown off the ground…

I realised that the area in front of me held the door leading to the outer dungeon. That means that behind me is…

The thought was quickly held back as the boss monster started flapping its wings powerfully. Without any form of grip, I was blown back and was on the way to the edge of the floor. I remembered the other female player who fell to her doom, and a scream escaped my mouth.

"Gotcha!"

Just as I thought that I was done for, a hand had grabbed me and stopped me just as my body had fallen off the edge. Looking up, I saw the evil-looking bandit-like face of Klein looking at me with a serious expression. I have never seen him look so serious before, but I accepted the help and helped myself up with his help.

"Kirito…" Klein said as he looked at me "He'll never forgive himself if the girl he loves dies. So for his sake, don't die"

"Got it" I murmured thoughtlessly, but quickly snapped back into realisation and looked at The Roc Dweller once more

Kirito and Heathcliff were trading combos with it. Heathcliff, who had the game-breaking Unique Skill «Holy Sword», had easily landed a few combos on it while Kirito was acting purely on blind rage, leading him to work on auto pilot. This lasted for about thirty seconds, and by then The Roc Dweller's HP had dropped by another 5%.

I looked at my husband, the man I am most proud of and smiled.

The fight then carried on its original pace, with the polearm users attacking from afar to slow down the monster and other players coming in for the final attack. One hour and 30 minutes later, its HP was in the red zone. It had a bit of HP left, which shouldn't take long to deplete since we all had a natural flow in the tactic needed to defeat it. It didn't stop most of us to gulp when we saw it switch tactics once again, though.

The Roc Dweller shed its wings, just as Asuna had told us, and it bared its clawed forelegs. Without warning, the monster started to dig underground and disappeared from our sight completely. If what Asuna said was true, it should reappear after a few minutes…

SKREEEE!

The screeching voice of The Roc Dweller echoed through the open area as it appeared right next to Asuna, claws bared and ready to strike. I tried to run towards her help, but was cut off by another player using a sledgehammer. He was closer to Asuna, so he managed to smash the boss monster's face before it attacked which made it retreat.

"Liz" Kirito said calmly as he looked at me "I think I could sense where he might appear using my «Scan» skill. Smash type weapons are strong against it, so you should try and attack it"

"Don't you want to attack it?" I asked

"Swords aren't that effective against it, remember?"

Right now, Klein had rejoined us and Heathcliff had disappeared to help some other players. I nodded my head in agreement and prepared my mace. I should gain a ton of EXP when the boss is defeated, maybe even a LV Up if I managed to land the final blow. I am not passing up that kind of bonus!

"East, 10 metres!"

I jumped at the chance and used the simple «One-Handed War Hammer» skill «Bash». Just as expected, The Roc Dweller appeared right in front of me and the skill connected, leaving me with a half-second cooldown period. Quickly jumping out of the way, I watched as the boss monster shrieked in pain and dug back underground.

"Krios, north-west, 12 metres!"

A male player somewhere further away looked at Klein, who had given the order, and prepared his warhammer. He used the powerful sword skill «Megaton Smash» and it managed to connect with The Roc Dweller. He then backed away, watching as The Roc Dweller screeched once more and dug back underground.

This carried on for another 30 minutes, with «smash-type» weapon users and «shield» users protecting the other players while players who levelled up their «Scan» skills greatly gave commands of attacks. The intervals was varied and at times, long apart. This made it almost impossible to let down our guard. After all, it could attack at any given moment. I took this into consideration as I slowly backed away, hitting another player in the process.

"S-Sorry…" I said as I looked at the player with a comedic smile, only for it to easily disappear "Asuna…"

She was just about to say something with her stern tone when the voice of Kirito perked up.

"LIZ! IN FRONT OF YOU!"

My mind suddenly went black, and I couldn't remember what truly did happen. All I knew was that I needed to help protect Asuna, and I wanted to fix our damaged friendship. When I came to, I was on the ground, my body was cut open revealing the red data streams that formed my avatar. Looking at my HP bar, it revealed that I barely had enough HP left to fight even a «Frenzy Boar» Beside me, the destroyed head of The Roc Dweller lay on the ground lifelessly.

A screen appeared in front of me, but I was in too much pain to look at it carefully. However, it was easy enough to know what it displayed without looking at it.

**CONGRATULATIONS  
LV UP LISBETH  
7071**

Wow, so I really did level up.

I turned my head painfully and saw Asuna, sprawled onto the ground in a dazed state. She looked at me with wide eyes and her mouth open, gasping at what she had just seen. She then ran towards me and pointed something at me. The item in Asuna's grip burst into an array of beautiful red lights, and my HP bar quickly recovered.

"L-L-Liz…" Asuna managed to sputter out, but I was too tired from mental strains to reply her

"Liz! Asuna!"

Kirito had come once more, and I let out a sigh of relief. Yes, Kirito would always come to my help whenever I was in danger.

"L-Liz…" Asuna whimpered again

"Asuna…" I managed to say as my headache from overexerting my mental capacities started to make my head hurt "Sorry for… the past few weeks"

"No, Liz. Don't…" Asuna whimpered again and embraced me in a tight hug

I let tears stream down my face as I had managed to become reunited with Asuna once more. I opened my eyes and looked at Kirito, who was sharing my joy. True, Asuna and I had fought because of this person. But I guess it was because of him again, warning me of The Roc Dweller's appearance and giving me a chance to save Asuna; that we managed to fix our friendship.

I worded a simple "Thank you" to Kirito.

"Oi, we're going to activate the 66th Floor, wanna come with?" Klein asked from near the entrance to the next floor

I shared a glance with Kirito and a silent agreement passed between us.

"No thanks, we've got a little errand to run after this"

"Suit yourself" Klein shrugged as he disbanded the party we had formed "See you soon, you two"

Most of the other players had left when Asuna finally let go of me. Her eyes showed mercy and regret, two things that I did not see within her mere hours ago during the strategy meeting. She looked at me and smiled hesitantly. I didn't know what she was thinking, but I made a rough guess.

"Liz…"

"You should really stop saying my name" I smirked as I wiped my tears away "It's getting real awkward"

Asuna sniffled once and the two of s got up. Kirito stood a distance from us, hoping to not ruin the happy scene. I guess he wanted to see me and Asuna friends again after the unspoken rejection, and was equally happy.

"Listen, Asuna" I pointed a finger at her and spoke in my most commanding tone possible, which wasn't very much since I never could become a leader "I will only forgive your reckless behaviour if you promise me a few things"

"Uh-"

"One, I want you to tone down and stop all this foolish behaviour"

"Okay!"

"Two, get some food and rest. I could see it from here that you've been skipping out on both"

"Yes!"

"And three…" I said and lowered my hand, my face turning back into its calm and happy demeanour "Whenever you complete your clearing, come over here and let me do maintenance on your equipment —Everyday, from now on, without fail"

Kirito chuckled, remembering the exact same words being uttered towards him on the day that I had confessed my love for him. I had to hide my laughter as well, but of course my overly-expressive face betrayed me and I grinned like a Cheshire cat.

"Of course, Liz" Asuna said as she hugged me one last time "Of course I will"

We hugged each other for a while and finally let go, smiling happily. It was then that I realised that I had another pop-up screen currently minimised. I activated it and stared at disbelief at what had appeared. No way, I must be dreaming!

**CONGRATULATIONS**

**YOU GOT THE LAST ATTACKING BONUS!**

**BONUS ITEM**

**ARTHURIAN BATTLE DRESS**

I accepted the item and tried it on. Sure, the name was tacky enough and it made it sound like a low-level item, but it was much more than that. The stat bonuses it gave, particularly to defence, was amazing. Not to mention it looked real beautiful and elegant, making me wonder just how I came to get it.

The dress was mostly red, but had white frillings within. Tough silver armour covered my chest and along the sides of the dress, making it seem more than just a fashion statement. It even came with a set of armoured gloves and boots, though those are exchangeable. In short, I looked like a warrior lady from the Arthurian age, and a real beautiful one at that.

"How do I look?" I asked both Kirito and Asuna, who marvelled at the new piece of equipment

"You look amazing!" was Asuna's simple response

"You remind me of that one sword-wielding warrior from an old anime I watched" Kirito replied happily "What was that show again? Fate… something. Ah, well. Not that important"

I nodded happily at the approval of the new equipment and hugged both people in front of me. After a few seconds, I let go and held onto Kirito's hand. Asuna looked at us and I could notice a slight shift in her cheery self. Slowly letting go of Kirito's hand, I looked at Asuna.

"I really should get over this" Asuna said with a smile, one which I happily gave back

"We'd really like to stay and chat, but we have something important to take care of" Kirito said politely

"Yeah, sorry for troubling you" I added

"Don't worry, I'm fine now!

The three of us headed back to the main plaza, where the teleporter was located. The streets were left barren and empty, mostly because everyone had gone partying at the 66th Floor. It took a while to adjust to my new clothes, but at least there was enough room under the dress to allow me to move easily.

We waved goodbye to Asuna as Kirito and I entered the teleporter first. In unison, hands linked together, we both spoke the name of our destination, the 48th Floor, «Lindus». We wanted to head over to the 22nd Floor as quickly as possible, and then we needed to help Yui and her problem.

Hopefully, Silica was taking good care of Yui.


	6. Message Set In Stone

**2024. 11****th**** July. 22****nd**** Floor, Coral**

I opened my eyes slowly, basking in the bright rays of sunlight sneaking in through the windows. The upbeat tune of my alarm played harmoniously as I groggily got up and rubbed the drowsiness out of my eyes. Today, we had a lot of work to do.

Yesterday, after we managed to return to my workshop safely without many interruptions from players or monsters, Kirito and I brought Yui, Silica and the feathered dragon Pina to the twenty second floor to buy a house. I invited Silica and Pina to stay with us, much to Kirito's dismay. The young loli and her dragon accepted my offer which was met by a groan from my in-game husband. Well, at least the money she gained from selling her player home in «Friben» helped support the new house.

The house we managed to buy with all the money we had was a small one made out of wood. It had one bedroom with a large bed and a smaller bedroom with two smaller beds. It also came with a kitchen which merged with the living room. It wasn't much, but it was all we could afford. Still, it was a beautiful house and had that home feel to it.

I scratched my head as the memory of last night replayed in my head. I quickly hid my blush as I put on some clothes and turned on «Ethics Mode». I silently thanked the system for not allowing anyone to hear what happened inside a room from the outside.

As I exited the room and entered the kitchen/living room combo, I spot the two young girls having a nice conversation at the dining table. They were both stroking Pina's feathery body, making it make cute noises as two small hands stroked it.

"Ohayou~" I muttered sleepily "What do you two want for breakfast?"

"Sandwich!" Yui jumped cheerfully

"Anything's fine" was Silica's answer before she added "But can you really cook something else besides sandwiches?"

I'll take that as a letter of challenge.

"Hey! I'll show you I could cook something so good, you will beg for more!" I shouted at the top of my lungs as I pointed a ladle at Silica

"Uwah~ I'd love to try that!"

Apparently, not the response I was hoping for. It doesn't matter! I quickly opened my «Player Window» and took out the highest ranked ingredient I had. Since my «Cooking» stat is laughable, the ingredient only turned out to be «Cockatrice Eggs», harvested from the nests of the level 10 monster «Cockatrice Hens».

Cooking in SAO was simple, but only if your «Cooking» stat is high. For someone like me, it's a lot like blacksmithing. Pure random.

I turned on the stove, cracked the eggs into a frying pan and started cooking, hoping to make an omelette. This is going to be easy! Hah, I can't believe I couldn't do this earlier! The scene of Silica and Yui's mouths drooling from the deliciousness of the food swam into my mind. And Kirito. Oh, Kirito would ask to marry me in real life!

"Ohayou, everyone" Kirito's calm voice came into the room "What's for breakfast?"

I finally came back to reality as I looked at the food I had made. Or to be more precise, tried to make.

"Scrambled eggs…"

Breakfast was short and quick. The eggs were so-so. Not too burnt and not too undercooked. Silica had tried to praise my cooking, but I'm pretty sure she found it as hard as I did to praise such lacklustre food.

"So, when are we going to the First Floor?" was Kirito's question once we had all finished eating

All of us turned to Yui, whose mouth was dirty from eating. As I took out a handkerchief to wipe her mouth, I started to think. Do I really want Yui to leave? After all, we're already more or less one big happy family. Having Yui around, it was much more fun. The atmosphere was lively and talking to her as we tried to learn more about the amnesiac.

It wasn't me who voiced this complaint.

"Do we have to?" Silica's tiny voice asked us

"Yes" Kirito answered "She must have parents or guardians that are looking for her right now. We don't want to keep them waiting, do we?"

Kirito, too, sounded sad as he said that. Maybe it's true. None of us wanted to be separated from Yui. We may have stayed together for a short time, but we have already become so close. Yui looked at us with her large grey eyes. Eyes filled with hope, wonder and mystery. Her memory might be blotched up, but she is still a human being. Maybe when she meets her true parents or someone who knows her, she'll regain a bit of her memory back.

"We have to…" I regretfully agreed "But we'll still meet up together, right? Our doors are always open for you, Yui!"

"Mm, I want to stay with Mama and Papa too" Yui agreed as she smiled

We all cleaned up the table after we were done and prepared for the short trip we were all going to make. Since we weren't planning on doing anything reckless which might cost us or lives, we decided to put on casual clothes.

I wore a red blouse and a white jacket, while a pair of brown pants covered my legs. When I was done, I looked at Yui. There was no way she was going to be walking around in that white one-piece dress.

"Silica, do you have any spare clothes?"

"Eh? Aren't you a little too big for my clothes?"

"What?!" I shouted, thinking that that was clearly an insult "Not me, Yui!"

**2024. 11****th**** July. 1****st**** Floor, Starting City**

The shining blue light of teleportation finally dissipates, revealing four people and a blue «Feathery Dragon» standing in one of the most nostalgic places of Aincrad.

When I looked around, I easily noticed that not much has changed. The «Starting City» with all its glory looked upon us as the memories of the fear-filled and traumatic experience of the first month of the death game. A slight shudder went down my spine as I tried to repress these thoughts.

"I can't believe we'd be here again…" Silica's high-pitched voice echoed through the empty streets of the city

Hold on, empty?

"Hey, Kirito" I spoke up my confusion "Has the «Starting City» always been this empty?"

"About one thousand players still reside in the city, and another thousand are players from the «Army»" Kirito answered my question solemnly as he got off the «Teleportation Gate» "But the place being deserted is expected. I came here with Asuna not too long ago during the «Inner Area Murder Case» and not many players were around as well besides some guards"

"I see…" was all I could answer

We all walked silently towards the location of the «Black Iron Palace», where the «Monument of Life» was located. It was a large iron-clad castle made out of black glossy pillars and metal floorboards. The air inside was chilly, much colder than the outside temperature and much too cold for the middle of summer. I hugged Kirito for warmth, hoping to share some of his body heat.

In front of us, at the end of a long corridor lit by eerie blue flames, was a ten metre long «Monument of Life», a stone monument which could lead as a symbol of hope or a symbol of despair.

We quickly ran to the monument with Yui in tow. She was lagging behind, which didn't surprise me. Going to look at the names of the deceased was not a great way to start the morning, and I'm sure Yui was as scared as we were.

"Yui, do you know what this place is?" I asked, hoping to break up the tense atmosphere

"I-It's the «Black Iron Castle», where the Monument of Life is l-located" Yui's quiet voice echoed through the empty corridor

"And the Monument of Life is…?"

"I… I d-don't know…"

I sighed once more. Her situation was not getting any better, and we were all worried about Yui. I may be exaggerating, but I'm pretty sure her memory lapses are becoming even worse as well. Whatever happened to her, I'll be sure to give Kayaba Akihiko a nice beating up for tormenting such a small child.

The sound of footsteps stopped, and we are left facing the giant stone Monument of Life.

"I wanna take a look around" Silica said before running off, no doubt to check on some friends or former party members to ensure their survival

"Mm, we'll start looking" Kirito nodded as he took Yui by the hand and guided her to the leftmost part of the monument.

The three of us started to search every name on the monument, hoping that Yui would recognise at least one of them. However, our search became more and more desperate as each line of names was met with Yui shaking her head, claiming not to know anyone by those names. We already reached the «P» section of the monument when we finally stopped to take a rest.

"Looking for a few names out of ten thousand is real hard!" I complained loudly as I laid my back onto the monument due to fatigue "Do you even remember anyone, Yui?"

"I… I'm pretty sure I've heard of all these names before, M-Mama" came Yui's answer "But there's no one specific that… that I really remember…"

"No one specific?" Kirito asked "You know all these names, but none of them are actually important to you?"

"No, nobody but Papa, Mama and Silica's names"

Now, that was a revelation. The pieces just don't add up! She has to be a player, since she is not an NPC or a monster and the fact that she has a «Player window», but several things are off about her. Why is her «Player window» different? How does she know all these names? And what is wrong with her memory? I looked at Kirito, hoping that his game-based mind was thinking of something to make do of all these mysteries.

"Yui, Liz" Kirito said after a few minutes "I want to go check something out. Would you like to follow me?"

"Of course!" I spouted and instantly got up "What did you think of?"

"Nothing much" Kirito got up and stretched his body "Just a theory"

The three of us went to the further right side of the monument, stopping at the «Y» section. Kirito then started to look around, stopping every so often with a confused expression. He checked the list of players multiple times, and finally looked at me with a shock written all over his face.

"Liz, do you see something odd about this list?" he asked me

"Eh?" I asked, looking at the list of players "Nope. It seems perfectly normal"

"Yes, I suppose that it's the same as the other side of the monument" Kirito said as he scratched his chin "But don't you think something's… missing?"

I blinked.

Missing? What could possibly be missing from a programmed piece of data made by the world renounced Kayaba Akihiko? I looked at the list, only to find myself at a loss. What is it that Kirito saw that I, Shinozaki Rika, could not?

"Urgh, I give up!" I finally shouted "There's nothing strange about this thing"

"Yui…" Kirito called out "You're not a player are you?"

I looked at Kirito with a shocked expression. Yui? Not a player? Impossible! What else could she be?

"Your name… it isn't on the list" Kirito pointed to the long list of names

I checked the list with wide eyes. Yuda, Yugril, Yulier… He's right. Yui's name was nowhere on the list indicating that she was alive or even playing the game. I looked at Yui, who seemed equally shocked at this information as I am. She ran to the list as well and started to read, stopping when she passed the place where her name was supposed to be.

"Yui, I don't know what you really are but believe me when I say that it doesn't change the way I look at you" Kirito's kind words were spoken as Yui still looked at the list with wide eyes "Because to us, you're still our daughter, and you'll always be our daughter"

"Yeah, that's right!" I said with a proud smile as I hugged Yui from behind "It doesn't matter whether you're a player or not. You're our daughter!"

I could see Yui's wide-eyed expression turning soft as she turned around to return our hug. I looked at Kirito, prompting him to join our small family reunion. When we finally let go, I was just about to send a «PM» to Silica, saying that we were going to head home when a familiar blue feathery dragon caught our attentions.

"Pina!" I shouted out "Where's Silica? We're going home!"

Pina made a panicking growl as it flew towards Kirito, landing in a pained heap in his hands. Its breathing was heavy and uneven, making me look at Kirito with worried eyes.

"Don't tell me, it's…"

"The «Army»!" Kirito and I screamed in unison as we both took Yui by an arm and ran to where Pina had flew in from


	7. Chivalrous Knight

**2024. 11****th**** July. 1****st**** Floor, Starting City**

"Come on, where are you, Silica?" I grumbled to myself as we reached the end of the «Monument of Life»

There was nowhere else to go, but Silica was nowhere to be seen. I knew Silica, and I was fully aware that she would never separate herself from Pina. There was only one place left to go, and that was the exit of «Black Iron Palace». I looked at the exit and saw a shadow move across it.

"Liz!" Kirito said as she held on to Yui's hand tighter and hugged the pained dragon "Let's go!"

"Right!"

Running as fast as out feet could carry us without making Yui trip, both Kirito and I reached the entrance of the building in record time. Outside, we couldn't really believe what we saw. Mostly because it was just a tad bit unrealistic.

"Okay, kid. We could do this the easy way or the hard way!"

"NO!"

A male player wearing grey armour and a green cape stood in front of Silica with a hand grabbing onto the girl's wrist. Silica seemed to be struggling difficultly to escape the man's clutches but didn't have a high enough «Strength» stat. I saw that Kirito was going to run in and save Silica, but I grabbed his shoulder and stopped him right in his tracks before he could do anything insane.

"That must be a member of the «Army»" I reminded Kirito "If we go in there without a plan, we might as well have a quarter of Aincrad as our enemy already"

Kirito grumbled something incoherent, and I felt Yui tug my hand. She pointed at something off in the distant that was rapidly coming closer. No, it was someone. Someone other than us had been watching and was coming to save Silica, something that I had just stopped Kirito from doing. I wanted to call out to the figure but she had already stopped in front of the Army member, confronting him.

A head of brown hair tied in a braid, with a large pair of glasses with black rims, and within those, deep green eyes were opened wide, filled with determination. Dressed in a plain dress of a simple dark blue shade, she had a dagger sheathed in its scabbard in her hand. Whoever this young woman was, she must have got guys to face an Army member without worrying about the consequences.

"Oh, the babysitter is here" the army member said with a smirk "Is this one of your runts?"

"Sorry to say this, but I have never seen her in my life" the woman said, but her gaze never quivered

"Then you don't have any business here. I'm just making sure this kid pays up her «taxes»!"

"I won't allow you to physically… harass players just because they don't want to pay you people money!"

The statement of the woman made the army member's smirk to disappear completely, to be replaced by an ugly scowl. He let go of Silica's hand and faced the woman head on. Their stares were intense, but I could see that the woman was starting to get scared. I was about to say something to Kirito when I realised something was off.

He wasn't beside me anymore.

"Oi, I think you should stop when you're ahead" Kirito, who had suddenly materialised in front of the older woman, said with his Elucidator pointing at the Army member and Pina in his other hand

When did he take out his sword?

"Heh, and you are?" the Army member asked as he too brandished his own sword

"Kirito, though I doubt people like you have heard of me" replied my ever-thoughtful husband, who must have been trying to rile up the enemy's anger to increase his own survival chances "I could defeat you without even trying, and I'm sure you would regret ever choosing to fight me"

"Tough words for a boy not even wearing armour!"

The player charged Kirito, who stood in place. I knew that the attack was pointless, mostly because we were in a «Safe Area». However, Kirito should at least feel recoil damage while the weapon is reflected back, leaving a purple flash in its wake. The flash occurred, but Kirito stood still.

"So, that was your strongest attack…" Kirito spoke with a sigh "I bet a girl could have beaten you"

I saw that as my cue to appear and looked at Yui. I flashed her a winning smile, one which Yui responded to with a nod, and came out into the open. The Army member looked at me in surprise and scoffed. I had to admit, this guy had a very large ego.

"Liz" Kirito motioned towards me "What would you do?"

A smile was etched onto my face as I opened my «Player window» and materialised «Counterpoint», my trusty mace. I could see the Army player's face suddenly turn to one of fear and confusion as I raised my weapon. The overly exaggerated expression created by the server on my face must have looked terrifying, because the Army member screamed as the mace smashed into his face, knocking him back. No «HP» was lost on him, so I prepared to attack him once more

The Army member, probably afraid at my attack, ran off and left Silica behind. I looked at Silica, and noticed that she too looked scared. Honestly, is my face _that_ scary? I walked back to where Yui stood, also in shock, and took her hand.

"You could scare a lion with that face of yours" Kirito joked

"That was very inconsiderate of you!" I shouted at Kirito while holding Yui's tiny hand

"Not as inconsiderate as when you came out during that dragon attack"

I felt like a knife was stabbed into my heart as the words echoed through my ears.

"That was mean, Kirito!" I shouted "Yes, I might have come out a wrong time back then but that was in the past! You-"

"Thank you for saving me!" the woman cut in, probably from sensing the tense vibes coming out from me "My name is Sasha. Thank you for your help. Are you all friends?"

After calming me down, we all introduced ourselves to Sasha. According to her, the Army, or better known as the «Aincrad Liberation Force», had started a «tax collection force» to gain money from the players staying in the First floor. Kirito noted that Agil, a merchant friend of his, had mentioned something like that when they had come here some time ago.

Honestly, a tax on the players? Now that was evil. I'm even willing to bet that the Players hiding in the Starting City are mostly the scared ones who don't go out, so they don't have much money to begin with. Sasha invited us to follow her to the church where she was currently staying with some children she had taken under her care.

All of us complied and walked together as Sasha led the way to the church. Along the way, I held on to Yui when I noticed that her warm smile wasn't on her face anymore. No doubt she was a little upset about not knowing who she really was. Kirito, holding her other hand, stopped and picked up Yui, carrying her on his shoulders. He then held my hand and continued to walk behind Sasha.

"The two of you are married, right?" Sasha asked, turning around to face the two of us smiling and holding hands "I could see it on the rings on your hands"

We both smiled and nodded.

"But what about her?" she pointed to Yui "She doesn't have a «Player cursor». Is she an NPC or…?"

"It's… hard to explain ourselves" Kirito answered truthfully

"We found her, and now she's under our care" I followed on with a smile "You could say that she's like a daughter to us"

"What about her?" she pointed to Silica

"Can I be you daughter too?" Silica suddenly said hopefully

"No" both Kirito and I deadpanned simultaneously

After a short laugh together, Sasha told us that we have reached the church. She knocked once, and invited us in. What was inside was truly unexpected. Many kids, all around Silica's age, came toward us. They started bombarding us with questions, and would have asked even more if it wasn't for Sasha silencing them.

"See here now, you can't just go about speaking so impolitely to people you've just met. —Sorry, we rarely ever welcome any guests around, so..."

"It's okay!" I said and patted the head of one of the kids there, maybe around twelve years old "I know kids, I took up a babysitting job every once in a while in the past"

It was around that time when we heard the sound of a bell being rung and all the kids ran to a room which I could probably call a dining hall. Sasha told us that it was time for lunch, and it was then that I realised that I was getting hungry myself. I didn't even realise hours had passed since we started to look for Yui's identity. I saved myself the trouble of damaging my pride when Yui complained that she was hungry, which Sasha giggled to and told us we could join them.

What was told to have been lunch turned out to be a warzone.

A wide array of food was prepared in front of us on tables, ranging from simple buns to vegetables like carrots. The children were all fighting with each other, trying to get more food for themselves. Even the kids that were around Silica's age acted quite immature compared to Silica.

"Everyone, take one piece of bread each!"

"Hey, it'll spill if you don't pay attention!"

"Aah, sensei! Gin stole my sunny-side-up fried egg!"

"I gave you my carrots in return, didn't I?!"

Sasha was trying her best to control the many children but was failing. I had to applaud her determination, though. In the babysitting jobs I usually took, there was usually just one child to take care of and even that was a handful. How Sasha managed to take care of all these children since the first year… she deserved a medal on her own.

"This is... pretty amazing..."

"Too amazing…"

After she managed to calm down the children for a little while, Sasha invited us all to eat at the circular table situated slightly away from the kids. Silica, though, wanted to talk with some of the kids to ask how they were doing and to trade stories about her own adventures. Sasha thought that it would be a wonderful way for the kids to get motivation since Silica was around their age group.

"Are you planning on becoming a teacher or something?" I asked as we ate the food in front of us "Because I can't think of any other reason why anyone would torture themselves so badly"

Sasha laughed for a little bit before answering my question.

"On the other side, I was training to become a teacher in university. You see, classroom chaos has always been a problem, hasn't it. The chance to be able to guide children; I've always gotten fired up

by it. But when I came here, when I started living with those children, just about everything was different from what I believed in... It felt like I was the one relying on them instead; that they were supporting me more rather than the other way around. But, well, that might be fine too... I started believing that it was merely a natural result."

"Wow, Liz. You should be a fortune teller when you grow up!" Kirito joked, earning a light punch from me

I watched as Yui had somehow managed to mix around the food to make a sandwich and bit into it. I had to admit, I was rather relieved that we found out about Yui being a non-player. Now she could stay with us for as long as she wants. I wonder what would happen to her after the game gets cleared. Would she still exist? Or would she stay inside the world of Aincrad, waiting for us to return? I felt rather sad when I thought about that. To me, Yui had felt to be more than just a friend. She was our daughter, and I as her mother felt very attached to her.

"So the tax collection…" Kirito's voice snapped me out of my thoughts "How long has it been going on for?"

"It was just a few months ago, maybe around February or March. The Army started to extort the Players residing in this area. Though there are even some Army members who are against this. I'm not really sure what that was about, but from the rumours I heard, there is a power struggle within the Army"

"I see… Do you-" Kirito was going to continue, but was suddenly cut off when he looked at the general location of the church entrance "There are players there, two of them"

Four pairs of eyes turned to the place where Kirito noted. As I expected, there was a knock on the door.

"They must be guests" Sasha told us

Sasha got up to answer the door, and Kirito stood up as well. It was no question that Kirito was going to be the white knight he is and protect Sasha in case she was attacked. As they left, I saw that Yui wasn't eating anymore.

Now that I think about it, Yui had been silent for quite a while.

"Yui..." I spoke to the young child "Are you okay? You haven't been talking for a while. Is something wrong?"

"I… I'm just worried…" Yui answered with a frown "If… If I'm not a player… What am I, Mama?"

I could see where she was getting that from, and it felt disheartening coming from the usually cheerful girl. I held her hand and looked into her eyes as I smiled warmly.

"We'll find out who you are, Yui" I told her "We'll find out… together…"

Our sentimental moment was stopped abruptly as we saw Kirito and Sasha return, followed by two other players. The many chattering kids, Silica and even Pina silenced when they saw their newcomers. It wasn't so surprising once I saw the clothes that they wore.

The two players both sported grey hair, which is surprising on its own. I had my own hair dyed pink, and that suited me wonderfully considering my baby-like face. Since everyone here looked like their real world counterparts, seeing players with colourful hair was rare since they don't usually work. But on these two, it looked very fitting. They also wore clothes that surprised me very much. They wore clothes of the «Army».

I stood up, ready to face them in combat, but Sasha told me to lower my guard.

We were introduced to the two of them, the man being «Thinker» and the woman being «Yulier». Apparently, they came with good intentions and not to rat us out for attacking their fellow Army member. They not only talked to us casually, they thanked us for attacking the man just now!

"Why are you thanking us, actually?" Kirito asked as he drank his tea "That attack wasn't really anything to be noted of"

"I'll start my explanations from the very start" Yulier told us "What is known as the Army, wasn't named as such since long ago... The reason why the «ALF», short for Aincrad Liberation Force, became the current name for the Army, is due to the fact that a former sub-leader, a man named, «Kibaou», who is presently the influential head, took control over it. Initially, it had the guild name, «MTD»... Have you ever heard of it?"

Kibaou… if I wasn't mistaken, Kirito had told me that it was this person who had given him the nickname «Beater». Looking at Kirito, this either meant that I was wrong or he didn't want to talk about it.

"That's probably the abbreviation for «MMO Today»" was what Kirito did say "At the time SAO started, it was the biggest net-game information gathering site in Japan. The one who formed the guild should have been the administrator from there. If I'm not wrong, the name was..."

"Thinker" the grey haired man said "That would be me"

I blinked once as the knowledge of the information sunk in. So the person in front of me was actually the original founder of the Army. I knew that in the past, the Army was actually competent. It was all because of the great loss they attained during the 25th Floor boss fight that they suddenly changed to become what we saw right now.

"I was definitely not trying to make a self-righteous organization like how it is now" Thinker continued on "All I wanted was to equally share information and food resources among as many players as possible. But… a pragmatic plan and strong leadership for the organization were crucial to realize those ideals, and to add onto that, the Army was much too big. Concealment of acquired items was rampant, coups and revolts happened one after another, and the leaders gradually lost their control over the guild"

"Someone else took control of the Army, right?" I said, trying to keep up with all the information

"Yes, Kibaou" Yulier told me

They continued on talking about what Kibaou had done to the Army, turning it into the guild it was today. At one point, I gave up and allowed Kirito to talk to them while I ate lunch with Yui. Never mind, he'll explain it to me later anyway. It was a very long time, and I was stuffed when they finally stopped talking. I released a heavy sigh. That was an experience I never wanted to go through again.

I noticed a white screen had appeared before me. A screen I was used to seeing ever since I became a blacksmith.

**THINKER AND YULIER WOULD LIKE TO BE YOUR FRIENDS**

**YES NO**

"If anything happens, could we contact you two?" Yulier asked with a leader-like smile "You seem like people we could trust"

"Of course" I said before Kirito could turn them down, which he most probably will, and pressed «Yes» "We'd love to help you two"

We bid farewell to the two Army leaders, and soon had to take our own leave. Silica seemed to have made friends with many of the Players there, and some of them even thought about leaving the church soon to have adventures of their own. Sasha seemed a little reluctant at that.

"So, what are we going to do when we get home?" Silica asked as she walked beside me and Kirito

"Well, me and Kirito are going to have some… alone time" I grinned at Kirito, and he seemed to have picked up the message as well "So I think it would be best if you two just enjoy yourselves however you want to"

"Okay~" Silica sang happily

"Mm" Yui nodded as she sat on Kirito's shoulders "We'll leave Papa and Mama alone for tonight!"

I looked at Yui, who was feeling much better after telling me her fear. I hope we could find out what she really is soon, and I hope that she could stay with us for as long as possible.


	8. Trip Down Memory Lane

**2024. 16****th**** October. 74****th**** Floor, Kamdet**

Kirito looked at the elusive prize that stood there, unknowingly walking right into his hands. He considered himself lucky. It was very rare for someone to find any kind of delicacies in Aincrad. Sure, he has managed to get better food thanks to his wife's casually increasing culinary skills. Sure, she managed to cook up a pot of curry without burning most of the kitchen, but Kirito was a growing man and he needed food.

That «Ragout Rabbit» never looked the tastier.

There was one thing within Kirito that had changed drastically the longer he stayed with his loved one. It was his patience. He had more or less lost most of it, usually opting to rush into situations headstrong without any thoughts as of recently. Seriously, Lisbeth had a way of making him want to hurry up with whatever they were doing.

However, that wouldn't work now. The Ragout Rabbit was a tricky monster to catch. It's ranked as an extremely rare monster, rare enough to earn the term 'super'. Even if Lisbeth's cooking skills would probably throw all of his efforts into waste, he was set on catching it. Slowly, Kirito took out a thin throwing pick from his belt. With the stealth of a viper, he flicked his hand, motioning for the «Single Shot» sword skill available for the «Knife Throwing Skill».

The Ragout Rabbit, finally aware of the alien presence, jerked its head at Kirito's general direction. It only had enough time to register a shrill squeal before the throwing pick pierced into its skull. As with every other monster within the realm of «Sword Art Online», the creature burst into a spectacular array of polygons, a very beautiful death indeed.

Kirito quickly dashed to the area where the Ragout Rabbit had died. It was almost impossible for him to ever meet one again, so he didn't want to miss up the chance. Imagine his delight as a retrievable item sat where the Ragout Rabbit had gone. «Ragout Rabbit Meat». It was an S-Rank ingredient, and he wanted to know how it tasted so bad.

"Now, who should be our cook?" Kirito muttered to himself, thinking back to his wife, adopted daughter, and… mascots? Well, whatever Silica and Pina are, anyway.

**2024. 9****th**** July. 48****th**** Floor, Lindus **

The sound of my hammer banging on materials sounds like music to my ears as I once again craft a new sword to be sold within the shop. I take a look at the description and stats given by the system. «Terra Breaker», a «Two-handed Sword» which is strongest in that attack stat. I gave it a clean cut using my «Counterpoint», checking its durability.

"It's good…" I spoke to no one in particular "But not good enough"

I sighed as the sword was placed into a sheath and brought it outside to be sold. For a while, I seemed to have been able to control the randomness factor of the «Smithing» ability, mostly due to Yui's interfering. It gave all of us some clues on what she really was, since she could somehow enter the system's database at her own free will. In fact, Yui is also known to understand all of the Players, making my sales much easier. She couldn't be a Player, that's for sure. Kirito's guess was that she was a program, an AI. Somehow, I'm finding it hard to believe him. Hey, an AI made by Kayaba Akihiko that wanted to help us? As if. However, there was one thing Yui couldn't do, and that was to explain why Kirito's «Dark Repulser» was considerably stronger than my other weapons.

As I placed the weapon on the wall, I heard the sound of the front door being opened and the welcoming bell announcing a potential customer's arrival. As I tuned around, a wide smile plastered on my face, I started to greet the Player that had just entered.

"Welcome to «Lisbeth's Smith Shop»! How may I-"

"Long time no see, Liz" the deep burly voice of a male caught my attention

Taking a good look at the Player, I noted his large and powerful build. His chocolate brown coloured skin seemed alien in a Japanese-only released game, and his bald hairstyle was truly something to be amazed of. I know I have met this player before, but I don't really remember since it must have been a long time ago. Thank Cardinal for «Player IDs».

Agil.

"Agil!" I said out loud, remembering him as Kirito's merchant friend "Yeah, it has been a while. How long has it been? A month?"

"Should be around that long, yeah" Agil said with his deep, burlesque voice.

The two of us were acquainted on the way back from our trip to the First Floor. At the time, Kirito thought that it was best that we bought a few equipment for the young players that Silica had persuaded into adventuring. Thus, we went to the one place he knew he could get good equipment at a cheap price. Well, cheaper than normal that is.

I had to admit, the first time I saw the big hulk of a man I was surprised. The first thought I had was 'Did he find a rare avatar moulding item somewhere?'. Obviously, that wasn't the case. There was no way anyone could change how we looked. So basically, he was a giant. Silica literally screamed when Agil tried to shake her hand, fearing that he would crush her petite, loli form.

"So, what brings you here?" I asked as I walked over to him in my maid-like uniform. I wanted to keep the «Arthurian Battle Dress» for battle purposes only

"I was in the area and thought that I could visit my good friends" said Agil as he crossed his arms "Where is Kirito, anyway?"

"Out hunting" was my robot-like response "Honestly, I thought everyone knew his schedule by now. Well, everyone he was close to, at least"

"Well, that's too bad" Agil sighed "And here I thought I wanted to give him some information that I came across… Any idea when he's coming back?"

"Around now, I guess" I checked the «chronometer» at my upper left corner

And what comes after that, is what I would say is the most awkward two minutes of my life.

With the main topic of our conversation over, the two of us stood there… waiting… Honestly, we had no idea what to talk about. Agil seemed to be interested in the non-existant dust on the ground, while I started inspecting the pretty ceiling.

"So… nice weather we're having…?" I said, trying to break the awkward conversation

"Really" Agil said with a straight face "We have no idea what to talk about we're resorting to the weather?"

"Hey, the weather is a great way to start a conversation!" I spat "And unless something interesting happens, we're just going to have to stick with it"

Now, this didn't happen exactly, but just for the sake of the story, we'll pretend that it did.

Just before the silence could become even more awkward, the door opened up with a silent bang and the singsong voice of a loli broke the silence that was so heavy it could break an elephant's back.

"Hi ho~ EEEK!" Silica squeaked when she saw the giant muscular form of Agil standing in my shop

"She… squeaked…" Agil said with a look of bemusement

"I only thought that happened in anime and manga…" was all I could say

From behind Silica, appeared another young girl. Not truly a Player, but still a good friend and adopted daughter, Yui strolled in with a nice little hum. She greeted everyone a sweet hello and walked straight to the back, probably going to the Corridor Crystal that connected the shop with our home.

Everyone stared at the door she had entered through questioningly.

"How come she's not scared of you, Agil?" I asked with an expression of confusion "You made a loli squeak, but can't even get an eight year old to scream"

"She's not human, right?" Silica asked as she hugged Pina "Maybe she doesn't have fear programmed in her or something"

"Unless Kirito comes in screaming about something random, this day couldn't get more awkward" Agil said next, as if it was compulsory for him to speak

Obviously, this doesn't happen right afterwards, but just for the sake of plot…

"LIZ! I NEED YOU TO MASTER YOUR «COOKING»SKILL, NOW!" Kirito burst into the shop with the excitement of a five year old

After a few weird glances from everyone, Kirito greeted Agil and patted Silica's head. He then made this strange fist bump thing he and Pina had created… somehow and kissed me on the cheek. When asked about the random outburst, he told us about his day in the fields.

"You WHAT?!" I screamed at the top of my lungs

"I caught a «Ragout Rabbit», and I need someone to cook it for dinner" Kirito said nonchalantly

"B-But, I'm barely even at the midpoint! How am I supposed to Master that skill in such a short time?!"

"You could always ask someone else to cook it, right?" was Silica's cute suggestion

"Yeah, but who?" I interjected

The first person we thought of was Asuna, but it had been quite a while since we last saw her. No, the only times we DID see her was at «Floor Boss Meetings», and my last one was back on Floor 65. It was a while since then, and I haven't seen her since. Not even at the days she would usually come to fix her weapons' «Durability». Did she… find a better blacksmith?! Oh, HELL NO!

"Not Asuna" Silica said as she turned off her «Player Window». Did she message Asuna asking for her help?

Next to her, there was absolutely no one who would actually waste their time with «Cooking». The only people I could think of are married Players, who might want something more delicious to eat. However, there was one person I could think of.

"Sasha" I said, remembering the kind bespectacled lady from the First Floor "She works in a church filled with kids. That means that she must cook daily. Her «Cooking» stat should be really high now!"

"I'll send her a «PM»" Kirito said and took out his own Player Window

It was funny, really. When I first started dating Kirito, he wouldn't have that many people to PM. Mostly because his «Friends List» was small, almost non-existent. But after I forced him to accept more «Friend Requests», he seemed to start using it more often. Wow, chucking your ideals into other people's throats is so productive.

"Before I forget" Agil, who seemed to have disappeared for the past few minutes, said with his overly manly voice "I just received some interesting information, Kirito"

"Ah, interesting, you say?" Kirito looked at the man with tactical eyes, and I am sure that I won't understand whatever they're going to say next

"It's regarding… «The Army»"

I quickly exchanged glances with Silica and… Pina. Our friends, Thinker and Yulier, said that the army was starting to split up, with most of its faction going to «Kibaou's» side. If there was something happening, I wanted to make sure that we were there to help them.

"They're going to have a leader-to-leader talk, between Kibaou and Thinker. No weapons, just a friendly talk. However, rumours are going around that it's really a trap"

"Somehow, I expect as much" Kirito solemnly said "Kibaou has been trying to get control over the Army. And the best way is to take out Thinker, so…"

Before he could finish that thought, a translucent screen appeared in front of him. A Private Message, sent from Sasha. Kirito took a few seconds to read it before looking at me and grinned.

"Guess what?" he smiled "We're having «Ragout Rabbit Stew» for dinner!"

Silica squealed in excitement as Pina flew around. What a programmed dragon would be doing with stew, I have no idea, but their euphoria was contagious. The next thing I knew, I was pulling Kirito into a tight hug.

"And while we're there, we could meet Yulier and Thinker, too!" I chimed in

"It's like killing two birds with one stone" Kirito nodded and looked at Agil "Thanks for the info, Agil. I'll be sure to send you a two-page report on the taste of the stew when I come back"

"J-Just a report?" Agil laughed "Come on, buddy, we're friends, right? What about a taste? A small bowl?"

"Sorry, Agil" Silica apologised with a look of cute pity "I don't think one Ragout Rabbit is big enough for all of us, if you include Yui as well"

I swear, Agil's face never looked the sadder.

"So? Who's up for a trip to the First Floor?!" I cheered and ran to the front door, turning the sign around to «Closed»

This was going to be interesting.

* * *

**A/N Sorry for the hiatus. This is the start of the next arc, and so it's a little short. Enjoy!**


	9. Burst of Sensation

**2024. 16****th**** October. 1****st**** Floor, Starting City**

The soft chime that indicated the use of the «Teleport Gates» rang beautifully amongst the winds as the figure of three people and a dragon slowly emerged upon the clearings of the first floor ever to have been conquered by the «Players» of the death game known as «Sword Art Online». They all wore casual clothing, seeing as they were not planning on battling any time soon.

"Ah, it's been such a long time since we last appeared here!" I said with a stretch of my body as the grand view of the «Starting City» invaded my eyes

"That's right" Silica chimed in as she dusts off her clothes, despite dust being non-existent in the game world. She also stares happily at the gold-rimmed ring that was on her left hand and smiled

Kirito and I looked at the smiling little teenager and couldn't help but grin. Approximately two weeks ago, on the 4th of October, Kirito had managed to solve a riddle given by Silica regarding the periodic table of elements. In the end, it was all a grand «ruse» made so we could find out her birthday and real name. Kirito had given her said ring, an item he got from a quest which was called the «Ring of Angel's Whisper». Meanwhile, I had crafted a new dagger for her to use.

The walk towards the church was somewhat uneventful, seeing as there was a strange lack of «Army» members around to stop us. This, though, was slightly unsettling. What had happened to the ten thousand Players who dubbed themselves soldiers of the Army? Suddenly, the reminder that the Army was currently splitting up into two factions and the meeting they were supposed to have being a trap seemed all the more believable.

A short fifteen minute walk was all that it took for us to reach the church in which Sasha used as an orphanage for the young players. However, before doing so, we stopped by the dreaded «Monument of Life». The sudden appearance at said location was unsettling for all of us, especially Yui who had bad recollections there, but I thought that perhaps it was time we honoured the dead.

The list of names on the monument which have been crossed out seemed to have increased since we last came, though that was expected. After all, people still died no matter how good we are or how far we've come since the dreaded beginning of the game. I even noticed the names of some of my clients, the many people who had come to ask to have their weapons fixed or to buy better weapons. I silently cried at that memory. My swords were not good enough to save everyone, it seemed.

Kirito seemed to have noticed the sudden change in my mood as he used his right arm to hold on to my left hand. And then, there it was a gain. The beautiful sensation of feeling the warmth of Kirito's hand upon mine. I turned to him and smiled again before inviting everyone to leave. We didn't want to leave Sasha waiting, and eating dinner in such a depressing mood would surely ruin her day.

After praying one final time for the fallen, the five of us appeared at the church. With a soft knock from Kirito, the church's door opened up, revealing the beautiful form of the bespectacled woman, Sasha. She seemed to have gotten much better since we last saw her. Her clothes and armour looked much more reliable, and her smile seemed even warmer than before.

"Welcome, everyone" Sasha said with a kind smile "Please, make yourself at home"

Walking into the church, all of us noticed something oddly peculiar about the building. For some reason, it seemed… less rowdy. The sound of young players running around, causing trouble for the former «University student», had dimmed down compared to last time. Yui was the one who voiced out this concern.

"You should thank Silica for that" Sasha answered with a knowing expression "After you talked to them, more than half of them left the orphanage in order to become better warriors. I only allowed them to leave under the sole exception that they had to «PM» me every few days, to make sure that they're alright"

"Do you regret having to watch them leave?" I asked as we turned into the room which was the mess hall

"Honestly saying, yes. Although, all children have to grow up someday, and it always saddens the parents whenever they had to watch their child leave. I guess you could say that it was high time for the birds to leave their nest, right?"

"That's a nice anthology" Kirito told Sasha

When we reached the table where we had sat down once a few months ago, we noticed a new figure sitting there as well. It came as a surprise, as none of us noticed the person's presence. Yui seemed to be the only one who was unfazed by this and instead walked up to the new person and greeted her the way a young child would. The person turned around, revealing the full body cloak that he or she wore. She then slowly took off the hood, making Kirito gasp as he saw the person inside.

"Ano~ Ki-bou!" the person, a girl with auburn hair and spoke with a nasal inflation, spoke up "It's been a while since we last saw each other, ne?"

"Yeah. When was that again?" Kirito extended a hand to shake with the girl's

"You were still a selfish «Solo» player and you weren't surrounded by girls, I could say" the person said with a strange laugh, making Kirito blush slightly at the embarrassment as the girl shook Kirito's hand

After introducing us to the girl, «Argo the Rat», Kirito gave the «Ragout Rabbit» to Sasha, who thanked us and left the room to call the children and cook dinner. I had offered my assistance, but was quickly shot down by Yui of all people.

"Mama, don't you think that the food would be better if someone with a higher «Cooking» stat made it?"

I slumped my head in defeat. Imagine that, my own daughter insulted my cooking skills.

Argo was the next topic of conversation. Kirito had asked her what she was doing all the way her on the First Floor, getting a slightly unsettling nervous laughter from the auburn haired girl. According to her, she was investigating the rumour of the Army's inner quarrel. Seeing as Sasha's orphanage was a big thing on this floor, she had decided to ask Sasha for questions. It was then that Kirito messaged Sasha, making Argo find out about the Ragout Rabbit.

"She invited me for dinner" Argo said with a sleazy grin "After I had generously helped her with a problem regarding her children"

She then proceeded to tell us about how she had rescued one of the children from an Army member. I shared a glance with Kirito. Apparently, neither of us believed her that much. It was obvious that Argo had asked for Sasha to invite her, maybe even resorting to blackmailing. However, Silica was the only one who was amazed by Argo's obviously made up story.

"Wow, that was amazing!" Silica said with an expression of wonder

I had the sudden urge to remind her that she, too, was saved by me and Kirito a few months ago. Still, it was keeping Silica, Pina and Yui occupied, so we decided to let it be. Yui, however, was a different situation.

"I don't think that you're telling the truth" she said and pointed to Argo "That story never happened, and you're just trying to get into our good books, am I right?"

Argo looked at Yui questioningly.

"But I could still notice that you're really a nice person. You wanted to entertain us as well, am I right? And that was really nice of you"

"So you're the one, huh?" Argo said with a pleased look

I had to hand it to Yui, she had a strange way with words. We still didn't truly understand what Yui was, but she was a great addition to the team. I still didn't want to believe that she was an AI program made by Kayaba Akihiko, though. No matter how valid that sounded, especially since Kirito was the one who said it, I couldn't believe anything made by that insane man was deemed worthy of trusting, unlike Yui.

I saw that Argo seemed to take an interest in Yui, asking multiple questions. That was when Kirito told me that Argo was an information broker. Quickly, without thinking much, I pulled Yui closer to me the way a mother would do to her child. Silica hugged Pina as she looked at me with confused eyes, probably wondering why I did so.

"You're not trying to sell out Yui's information to people, are you?" I asked warily "Because if you do, I will never let you sleep easy at night"

"Relax!" Argo said as she laughed "I just wanted to know more about the 'wonder-child' everyone's talking about"

We all looked at Argo expectantly, waiting for an explanation. Apparently, according to Argo, she had heard of a small girl who seemed to know more about the system than anyone in-game. She was said to live with a blacksmith on the 48th Floor, and was always seen with the ever popular idol, the Dragon Tamer. Wow, I didn't know Yui was that popular.

Still, I had to silently laugh. Yui didn't live on the 48th Floor, we lived on the 22nd Floor. The house was connected through a «Corridor Crystal», so not many people knew anyway. It was also common fact that Yui and Silica hung out a lot together, and they were always seen playing with Pina somewhere. Me and Kirito entrusted Yui's safety to Silica. If anything happened, she was supposed to be responsible for it.

It was around that time that Sasha came back, along with a few children who decided to stay in the church. Sasha was right about one thing; the number of children had surely decreased. As soon as the kids sat down, Silica and Pina invited Yui to go hang out with them, leaving only four at the table.

Sasha had cooked splendidly, making a giant pot filled with the promised «Ragout Rabbit Stew». Seeing as we were actually able to actually eat «S-Rank» food, everyone quickly dashed to take a huge chunk of the stew. With a loud cheer of "Ittadakimasu!", I used a spoon to scoop up some of the stew. As soon as the food entered my mouth, though, I froze. My body was unresponsive, making me suddenly drop the spoon back onto the plate.

"Eh? Is it that bad?" Kirito, who was just about to take a bite himself, said in surprise

"Somebody kill me…" I muttered

"Eh?!" Sasha said in shock, looking at me as if I was insane "W-Why?!"

"Because if I had to die, I want the taste of this food to be the last thing I taste!"

Beside me, Argo was crying tears of joy as she too scooped up yet another spoonful of the stew into her mouth. Glancing at each other, Kirito and Sasha decided to dig in as well, only to suddenly stop as well. The soft meat of the Ragout Rabbit mixed perfectly well with the spices in the stew, making the rather spicy taste melt into our mouths. The choices of vegetables used was also nice and juicy, making someone like Silica, who didn't have much affinity for the food, to continue eating without any delay. I even saw Yui, trying to hide behind Silica, silently try to eat the bones of the Ragout Rabbit. Before long, everyone had started trying to grab the ladle of the pot first, hoping to get some more of the tender and aromatic meat before it all disappeared. I myself had three servings, knowing that I would never get to taste this ever again for the rest of my life.

We all dug in, eating a truly splendid and mouth-watering dinner that could never be truly described by words. I have the sudden urge to take out my «Lionheart» mace and go out hunting for more of this elusive creature, but cried when I realised that my speed stat was too slow to catch one. Compared to my cooking, this food was way beyond my level. I was surprised by the amount of food she managed to cook as well. I sort of felt bad for not inviting Agil, but, well… I don't actually care. It's just Agil, anyway.

We finished soon after and decided to help Sasha clean up, to which she felt extremely grateful for. As we were finishing up, we heard the familiar sound of the grand double doors of the building opening. The voice of a man rang through the church, asking if anyone was home. I seem to recall hearing that voice before, though I can't specifically remember where. Instead, I took a peek out the door way to the kitchen to see who it was.

Two players in Army uniforms, I noted. However, I knew that these two could be trusted. After all, we met them a few months ago. Kirito came out and noticed them as well, waving at them to attract their attention. Seeing him, the couple walked over to us.

"Yulier, Thinker" Kirito held out a hand "It's been a while"

"Indeed it has" Yulier responded

"We heard that you were having Ragout Rabbit Stew for dinner, so…" Thinker said, but was stopped by Yulier

"Let's not get to there, please"

I laughed listening to their conversation. Still, there was one thing that creeped me out. How did they know about the Ragout Rabbit? I swear, if Agil told them, I would have his head. It was bad enough Argo had to but in, but seriously?

"We have something to ask of you" Thinker said, turning the conversation into a serious one

Me and Kirito both turned to look at each other. This was about the Army, and the rumour that both Agil and Argo heard about. We were sure about it. Nodding, we both turned to look at the two Army members again. Whatever it was, we were prepared to help them in their moment of need. The two players in front of us also shared a similar glance before Thinker opened his mouth once more.

"I am sure you've heard of the rumour regarding the talk, am I correct?" both me and Kirito nodded "Well, we have a request to ask from you all"

* * *

**A/N Sorry for the long hiatus, and coming back with a filler chapter at that, but I'm sort of... busy right now. You see, living in Malaysia, I have to take this big test called the SPM examination at the end of the year. That, coupled by the fact that I live in a hostel, means that I barely ever get time for computers. So... expect another short hiatus from me.**

**Sumimasen, minna.**

**Re-uploaded with an edit on the dinner part. Enjoy ;)**


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